Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Lady Reader Bookstuff Presents Broken Notes By Ann Marie Frohoff Happy Release Day Ann!

Happy Release Day:
About The Book:
The Heavy Influence Series is an edgy sexually charged coming of age story.  A Modern Day 'WALK THE LINE' Romance.

The edgy Heavy Influence Series is about young, intense and reckless love between a rising rock star and his younger muse. 

Follow their journey through temptation, deception & forbidden love.
BROKEN NOTES (Heavy Influence, #2) By: Ann Marie Frohoff Publisher: AMF Publishing Pages: 279 Release Date: December 30, 2014
Music fades with a death. Dreams and impulses may kill a future. 

Being rich, famous and in an award winning, multi-platinum band can't save you from life's tragedies.

When Jake and Alyssa begin to build a life together in New York City, a death and an unfortunate set of events rattle Jake's very existence. Alyssa clings to her own dreams.

Jake's blurred take on life may end what they've fought so hard to keep. 

Will love remain the same?
Heavy Influence Links:
Book Trailer:
Original Soundtrack:

Giveaway:
One signed copy of FIRST KISS (Heavy Influence, #1)
One signed copy of FEVER PITCH (Heavy Influence, #1.5)
Heavy Influence Original Soundtrack Vol. 1
$10 Amazon Gift Card
*Giveaway is open to US and International Residents* To Enter: Comment with the reason you want to read Broken Notes as well as your email address to contact you, should you be the winner.
About The Author:
Ann Marie ("Annie") Frohoff grew up in sunny Southern California. As a teen and young adult, she spent her time frequenting and living in nearly every beachside city up and down the coast.

Ann Marie is a debut author whose vision to tell a story started out like many other aspiring writers, with a dream, literally.

After taking her then eight-year-old daughter to a concert, her dream weaving took on a life of its own. Long story short, she quit her high- paying corporate job and went for broke to follow her dream.

The first installment in her Heavy Influence Trilogy, FIRST KISS, released June 11, 2013 — the series is a story about young, reckless love between a rising rock star and his younger muse, spanning 10 years of their tumultuous and passionate relationship. Each book in the Trilogy will come with a soundtrack of original music, of which the lyrics will appear in the pages of the books.

Annie has settled in the South Bay area of Los Angeles with her family.
Social Media Links:
First Kiss Free 2.12-2.14:
Jake, an up and coming teenage rocker on the verge of stardom, reconnects with Alyssa, the younger girl next door.

When she becomes something more they're forced to face the harsh realities on his road to fame and the expectations of their friends and family.
Sacrifices are made as everything changes as they know it. 
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Monday, December 29, 2014

Immoral Behavior by Alex Fielding The Book to Read Next on your TBR List



About The Book:

When a handsome con artist accidentally falls in love with the girl he's trying to con, he decides to do everything within his power to protect her from his notorious boss, Kathryn Miller, who wants to see her dead. But will his power alone be enough against Manhattan's most dangerous female? Will his strengths include murder? These are the things Vincent Reid must now decide. At its root, the story is about one man's fight for freedom against an older woman who has not only controlled his body, but his mind for the last eleven years. 

Warning: contains R-Rated scenes.

Goodreads:

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

The Lover's Game by J.C.Reed Release Day Blitz





The Lover's Game

by J.C. Reed

Genre: Mature New Adult/ Adult Contemporary Romance

Recommended for ages 18 and up.

270pp

When love is a game...

After having her heart broken, Brooke tries to rebuild her life and closes herself off from the one man she loved deeply. When she meets Grayson, a photographer, she has no idea that her new boss will offer her more than she bargained for. The pay is great, her new friends more than welcoming and everything seems to be running well…until everyone insists she find herself a new suitor during a night out.

Jett knows how to play games. He is used to getting attention from everyone except the beautiful dark haired woman who doesn’t like to be fooled with and doesn’t trust him as far as she can spit. He wants Brooke but, more than that, he wants to own her, and the only way to get her is to make her owe him…against her will.

And what Jett owns, Jett keeps forever

AVAILABLE ON:


Find the The Lover's Game on Goodreads:




***Giveaway***

1x Signed paperback copy of THE LOVER'S GAME

1x sterling silver custom book pendant necklace $200 value

$100 Amazon Gift Card

Open INTERNATIONAL


Giveaway Code:


About J.C. Reed:

J.C. Reed is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of SURRENDER YOUR LOVE series. She writes steamy contemporary fiction with a touch of mystery. When she's not typing away on her keyboard, forgetting the world around her, she dreams of returning to the beautiful mountains of Wyoming. You can also find her chatting on Facebook with her readers or spending time with her two children.

Connect with Author:


Other Books: in the No Exceptions series:

The Lover's Secret (Book 1) is available now:

The Lover's Game (Book 2) is available now:
  Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ iTunes ~ Kobo 


Worldwide, print and ebook

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Release Day Blitz For Secrets In Battle by SM Donaldson

Secretsinbattle-2

sibcover3-3-001
Synopsis:

Annabelle Garrett, a hard working nursing student, was brought up her entire life to be a society princess. On the outside, her country club family seems perfect, but it’s really all just smoke and mirrors. A little over a year ago she was swept off her feet and rescued by a handsome rugged solider who was deploying. They kept in touch and talked every chance they got while he was deployed, until he was injured. Now, she’s not sure where they stand, or if they even do. Meanwhile, her family wants her to give up the silly idea of being in the working class and do what society girls like her are meant to do…marry someone with more money.

Judd Hughes’s only plan growing up was to be a soldier, retire from the Army, and eventually move back home to work with his best friend, Ryder, at Abbott Cotton. Being Ryder’s wingman before his last deployment proved to only make things a little confusing. He met a drop dead sexy southern debutante and had a few of the wildest nights of his life. The problem is he can’t get her out of his head. He tried some distraction tactics during his deployment but they didn’t work. Now, he’s been injured, medically discharged from the military, and is learning to live in society again.

When Annabelle decides she’s going to try and stand on her own, it proves to be a fight with her family. Judd struggles with PTSD and what his next step in life is. Can she rescue him from the hell inside of his head and heart? Will he be enough to help her walk away from the privileged life she’s always lived?

The final book in the Secrets of Savannah Series.

Buy it on:

 Amazon/Nook/Smashwords/Kobo/iBook

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About the Author:

SMDonaldson pic
Photos by Shelly Sale:

S.M. Donaldson is a wife and mother based on the Gulf Coast of the Florida Panhandle. She’s funny, sarcastic and has been known to have a potty mouth. She’s worked in many different fields in her life but, she has always dreamed of writing short stories and books. She recently penned her first series of novels Sam’s Choice and Sam’s Fight for Freedom. She is currently working on The Temptation Series.

To learn more about S.M. Donaldson visit her at:
Twitter: @ SMDonaldson1

profilewebsite

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Cover Reveal For The Lover's Game by J.C. Reed

Cover Reveal: 

THE LOVER'S GAME by J.C. Reed


Title: The Lover's Game

Author: J.C. Reed

Genre: Mature New Adult/ Adult Contemporary Romance

Recommended for ages 18 and up.

Full Length Novel

Expected Publication Date: September 9th 2014

When love is a game...

After having her heart broken, Brooke tries to rebuild her life and closes herself off from the one man she loved deeply.

When she meets Grayson, a photographer, she has no idea that her new boss will offer her more than she bargained for. The pay is great, her new friends more than welcoming and everything seems to be running well…until everyone insists she find herself a new suitor during a night out.

Jett knows how to play games. He is used to getting attention from everyone except the beautiful dark haired woman who doesn’t like to be fooled with and doesn’t trust him as far as she can spit. He wants Brooke but, more than that, he wants to own her, and the only way to get her is to make her owe him…against her will.

And what Jett owns, Jett keeps forever.



The Lover's Secret (No Exceptions 1)

Available now: 

worldwide, print and ebook


Add it on Goodreads


The Lover's Game (No Exceptions 2)

Available: 9/9

Add it on Goodreads



About J.C. REED

J.C. Reed is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of SURRENDER YOUR LOVE series. She writes steamy contemporary fiction with a touch of mystery. When she's not typing away on her keyboard, forgetting the world around her, she dreams of returning to the beautiful mountains of Wyoming. You can also find her chatting on Facebook with her readers or spending time with her two children. 

Connect with Author


Saturday, July 12, 2014

ATTENTION BLOGGERS AND BOOK LOVERS BOYSTOWN SEASON TWO IS HAVING A BOOK TOUR JULY 20-26, 2014

Good morning everyone! Yes it has been a while since I have been on here but I had some real life stuff happen to me and I am taking care of myself by reading and getting ready to come back full force!

The first step I am taking is helping out my best friend Jake Biondi host his second book tour for his second season of Boystown. You don't have to be a blogger as long as you have a facebook or twitter account where you can post the post for the day. I would love it to be top post but as it is such short notice top post is not necessary.

I am doing things a little differently for this tour. This tour will have reviews which you can e-mail Jake directly to get a copy @ BoystownTheSeries@yahoo.com and we will have teasers from the new characters and a special posting where you can choose the characters you want to see together and tell Jake why you want to see them together. 

Please send me an e-mail at teelovesblogging@gmail.com to let me know what you would like to do.

I appreciate any help you give me as I love Jake and this series is such a kick ass series!

Synopsis:

“As the others scrambled, two more gunshots were fired, echoing throughout the room. Blood splattered on the wall and floor as three bodies fell to the ground.” --BOYSTOWN Season One

In the aftermath of the warehouse shootings, lives are forever changed and relationships are forever altered. As the families of the victims work to put the horrific event behind them, they find themselves at the center of an even larger plan for revenge.

Ciancio twins Marco and Gino are as handsome as they are powerful -- and they arrive in Boystown with a scheme rooted in the bad history between the Ciancio and Mancini families. 

At the same time, Keith Colgan seems hell-bent on getting back the boyfriend he believes was stolen from him, Ben Donovan continues with his plan for Jacqueline Morgan and her son Jesse, and a stranger from the past threatens the future.

It all leads up to a spectacular New Year’s Eve engagement party that no one will ever forget.

Welcome back to BOYSTOWN!

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY - www.JakeBiondi.com

Goodreads:

Meet the characters of Boystown:

Cole O'Brien

Cole O’Brien is one of the book’s most interesting, complicated, and sexy characters. A senior graduating early from the University of Notre Dame, Cole flies to Boston to interview at the headquarters of a company that has offices in Chicago, where Cole ultimately wants to live. While in Boston, Cole hooks up with a very attractive man, slightly older than Cole, named Derek Mancini.

Cole immediately falls for Derek and something about Cole sticks with Derek as well. They spend the weekend together in Boston and, when rushing out of the hotel room to catch his flight home to Chicago on the day of his wedding anniversary, Derek leaves his wedding ring behind. Cole finds it and keeps it, hoping to one day be with Derek again. Will Cole and Derek end up together as Cole hopes? Or will Derek manage to keep his secret and his wife? Keep on reading!

Derek Mancini

Derek Mancini is one of the book’s most interesting, complicated, and sexy characters. An attorney who lives in Chicago, Derek is “happily” married to a Joyelle, a nurse at a Chicago hospital. However, Derek is known to secretly “hook up” with guys while traveling on business trips. 

It is during his business trip to Boston that he meets and sleeps with Cole O’Brien, who immediately falls for Derek. Something about Cole sticks with Derek as well. They spend the weekend together in Boston and, when rushing out of the hotel room to catch his flight home to Chicago on the day of his wedding anniversary, Derek leaves his wedding ring behind. Cole finds it and keeps it, hoping to one day be with Derek again. Will Cole and Derek end up together as Cole hopes? Or will Derek manage to keep his secret and his wife? Keep turning the pages of BOYSTOWN to find out.

Joyelle Mancini

Joyelle Mancini is one of the reading audience’s favorite characters. A nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago, Joyelle is a sexy, bright, compassionate woman.

Derek Mancini, an attorney, is “happily” married to a Joyelle. However, Derek is known to secretly “hook up” with guys while traveling on business trips. It is during his business trip to Boston that he meets and sleeps with Cole O’Brien, who immediately falls for Derek. Something about Cole sticks with Derek as well. 

Will Joyelle discover her husband's hidden secrets? 

Logan Pryce

Logan is one of BOYSTOWN’s core characters. Very handsome and professionally successful, Logan has low self-esteem and finds it difficult to love himself.

Logan and his boyfriend Max Taylor have been together for a very long time. Of course, that doesn’t mean that they don’t have their problems. Always feeling inferior to Max, Logan seeks confidence and self-esteem from liquor. In spite of Max’s many attempts to help Logan address and deal with his abuse of alcohol, Logan continues to drink, causing a great strain on their relationship. In the meantime, Max’s feelings for his long-time friend Emmett Mancini are beginning to grow. Can Max and Logan survive their issues? Or are they destined to fall apart? 

Max Taylor

Max Taylor is one of the book’s “good guys.” Tall, dark, and handsome, Max has a kind, gentle nature, unless provoked. He puts his boyfriend’s needs above all others and takes care of his friends and family.

Max and his boyfriend Logan Pryce have been together for a very long time. Of course, that doesn’t mean that they don’t have their problems. Always feeling inferior to Max, Logan seeks confidence and self-esteem from liquor. In spite of Max’s many attempts to help Logan address and deal with his abuse of alcohol, Logan continues to drink, causing a great strain on their relationship. In the meantime, Max’s feelings for his long-time friend Emmett Mancini are beginning to grow. Can Max and Logan survive their issues? Or are they destined to fall apart? 

Emmett Mancini

Emmett Mancini is one of BOYSTOWN’s heroes. Kind, loving and generous, Emmett is the youngest of the three Mancini brothers. He is the family’s voice of reason, compassion, and support.

Emmett and his boyfriend Keith Colgan have been together for about five years, almost as long as his other brother Derek and his wife Joyelle. No one enjoys the Christmas season more than Emmett, and Keith thinks the holiday season is the perfect time of year to “pop the question” to Emmett. A few of their friends are in on the exciting surprise, but Emmett is clueless about his boyfriend’s intentions. And Emmett is clueless about something else as well…Keith’s past. Will Emmett say “yes” to Keith’s proposal? Will Keith’s past put an end to their happiness? Keep turning the pages to find out!

Keith Colgan

Keith Colgan is one of BOYSTOWN’s central characters. Handsome and sexy, Keith has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth and gives off a bit of “attitude” to those he doesn’t know well.

Keith and his boyfriend Emmett Mancini have been together for about five years and Keith is ready to take their relationship to the next level. No one enjoys the Christmas season more than Emmett, and Keith thinks the holiday season is the perfect time of year to “pop the question” to Emmett. A few of their friends are in on the exciting surprise, but Emmett is clueless about his Keith’s intentions. And Emmett is clueless about something else as well…Keith’s past. Will Emmett say “yes” to Keith’s proposal? Will Keith’s past put an end to their happiness? Keep reading to find out!

Jacqueline Morgan

Jacqueline Morgan is one of BOYSTOWN's most exciting and complex characters. Beautiful and bright, Jacqueline is Jesse Morgan's mother.

Never revealing the identity of Jesse's father to him, Jacqueline raised Jesse entirely on her own. She was a fantastic mother -- generous and loving. But Jesse still longed to have a relationship with his father.

Little does Jacqueline know that her life is about to be turned upside down when a mysterious stranger named Ben Donovan enters her life.

Jesse Morgan

Jesse is one of the book’s hottest and most complex characters. A senior graduating early from the University of Notre Dame, Jesse receives a job offer from Logan Pryce, a man Jesse immediately becomes attracted to. The only problem is that Logan already has a partner. 

Jesse accepts the job and, along with his college roommate Cole O’Brien, moves to Chicago. Excited to begin their lives in Chicago, Jesse and Cole find an apartment in the heart of Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood and soon find themselves at the center of the novel’s action.

Having grown up not knowing his father, Jesse prays for the day when his mother will finally tell him who is father is so that he can attempt to build a relationship with him. In the meantime, a chance encounter brings Jesse and his new boss Logan closer than Jesse ever thought possible.

Justin Mancini

Justin is the oldest of the three Mancini brothers and one of the book’s darkest characters. Although he doesn’t appear in the book until Episode 9, Justin immediately figures into the book’s main storylines.

Harboring a dark history with his brothers Derek and Emmett, Justin arrives in Chicago to supposedly make amends with his brothers. But Derek and Emmett are suspicious about Justin’s arrival in Chicago – and they should be. Justin has a plan all his own and what he is after could destroy the entire Mancini family!

Ben Donovan

Ben is one of the novel’s most intriguing characters – but not necessarily in a good way. A groundskeeper at the University of Notre Dame, Ben meets and falls in love with Jesse Morgan. While Ben begins to plan for the future with Jesse, Jesse has no interest in a relationship with Ben and accepts a job in Chicago.

When Jesse refuses to reconsider his job offer and stay with Ben, Ben puts together an elaborate and sick plan for revenge. Jesse has no idea what Ben has in store for him!

Michael Martinez

Officer Michael Martinez is one of the audience’s favorite characters, even though he doesn’t first appear until Episode 9. A handsome, intelligent, witty member of the Chicago Police Department, Michael first joins the main characters as an outsider assisting them with a situation; however, he quickly becomes a member of the core group.

When his father, a policeman, was killed by a drunk driver, young Michael decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. Now as a grown man, Michael serves and protects those in Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood. But things are about to become very personal for Michael…

Rachel Carson

Rachel is BOYSTOWN'S woman of mystery. With a past connected to several of the book's main characters, Rachel arrives in Boystown with a plan -- and she's willing to do whatever it takes to execute it. 

The men of BOYSTOWN have no idea what Rachel has in store for them. And when she's done with them, their lives will never be the same!

Gino and Marco Ciancio

Gino and Marco Ciancio are the most eligible bachelors in the Napa Valley. Handsome, powerful, bright, and rich, they are used to getting what -- and who -- they want.

The Ciancio - Mancini family rivalry brings Gino and Marco to Chicago, where they quickly find themselves at the center of the storm. They both have strict orders from their father, Carlo Ciancio, but their relationships with some of BOYSTOWN'S other characters may force them to choose between family loyalty and affairs of the heart.

David Young

A handsome, bright personal trainer and physical therapist, David Young joins the BOYSTOWN storyline as he attempts to help on of the survivors of the wareshouse shootings. 

The relationships he builds with his client -- and others around him -- will entrap him in a web thick with love, lies, and liaisons. 

And a family secret that even David himself is not aware of may change him forever.

Tyler Bennett

Tyler Bennett is the newest member of St. Joseph Hospital's nursing staff. Handsome and compassionate, Tyler is assigned to work with Joyelle Mancini. Quickly, the two become friends as well as co-workers.

Before he realizes it, Tyler becomes a part of all the Mancini family drama -- but he has a plan all his own as well.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Twinsie Talk Book Reviews Presents Make You Mine (The Rock Gods #3) by Ann Lister Blog Tour Stop


Make You Mine

Book 3 in the Rock God Series

by Ann Lister


Cooper Rand is the high-energy drummer for his band Ivory Tower. Everyone is drawn to Cooper; which makes him the go-to party guy for those lucky enough to call him friend. He loves the lifestyle that comes along with being a rock star and feels perfectly suited for the role. He is also a professional when it comes to the hook-up, unwilling to stick around long enough to allow emotions to enter into what he's doing. He's lived his entire life 'in the moment' and it isn't until he meets Jayson that he begins to question the direction of his life and if he's been missing out on something truly special all this time.

Jayson Keller has spent most of his life living on the island of Martha's Vineyard working as a builder. Living on a small island also has Jayson working overtime to keep his sexual orientation secret. He has mastered the art of hiding in the closet, but he doesn't want it to be a forever thing. Jayson always said if the right man came along he'd happily leave the safety of his closet and live openly as a gay man. The problem is, living where he does limits his partner options and finding someone worth coming out of that closet for seems an unlikely prospect.

A party at Alex Metcalf's island estate brings Cooper and Jayson face-to-face. Lightning strikes hot and fast and suddenly their lives take a whole new path. Has Jayson finally met a man worth leaving his self-imposed closet? Have a couple of hours spent alone with Jayson opened Cooper to the idea there is a deeper meaning to life beyond the stage and the value of a committed relationship? But, a bigoted family and the rock star lifestyle could ruin everything and keep both men searching for what was standing right in front of them: a soul mate

Goodreads:

My Review

5 of 5 Cooper & Jayson



Amazon Lulu (epub version)






Ann Lister is a native New Englander currently living on the island of Martha's Vineyard with her husband. She has pulled details from her years living in the New England area and uses many local settings and landmarks in her novels.

After graduating art school and raising two daughters, she established her own video production company. Her nearly two decades working in video production included work within the music industry and won her a coveted Telly Award. It was this 'behind-the-scenes' exposure to the music world that inspired many of her novels.

In 2013 she released Book One of her new rock star series: The Rock Gods. Book One is titled, Fall For Me. This novel is her first full-length gay, erotic romance and it is also a Finalist novel for the 2013 Rainbow Award.

Book Two in the Rock Gods series is titled, Take What You Want. This story is a m/m/f menage and released in early November 2013. Book Three, titled: Make You Mine, is expected to release in Spring of 2014.

When not writing, she enjoys reading, creating stained glass, and traveling.



Facebook Author Page:

Twitter: @AnnListerAuthor

Goodreads Author Page:

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Lady Reader's Bookstuff Blog Tours Presents The Paradox of Vertical Flight by Emil Ostrovski Tour Stop




THE PARADOX OF VERTICAL FLIGHT by Emil Ostrovski

Release Date: September 24, 2013 Hardcover, 260 pages Publisher: Greenwillow Books Genre: Contemporary / Realistic Fiction / Tough Issues / Suicide

What happens when you put a suicidal eighteen-year-old philosophy student, his ex-girlfriend, his best friend, and his newborn baby in a truck and send them to Grandma's house? 

 This debut novel by Emil Ostrovski will appeal to fans of John Green, Chris Crutcher, and Jay Asher. On the morning of his eighteenth birthday, philosophy student and high school senior Jack Polovsky is somewhat seriously thinking of suicide when his cell phone rings.

 Jack's ex-girlfriend, Jess, has given birth, and Jack is the father. Jack hasn't spoken with Jess in about nine months—and she wants him to see the baby before he is adopted. The new teenage father kidnaps the baby, names him Socrates, stocks up on baby supplies at Wal-Mart, and hits the road with his best friend, Tommy, and the ex-girlfriend. 

As they head to Grandma's house (eluding the police at every turn), Jack tells baby Socrates about Homer, Troy, Aristotle, the real Socrates, and the Greek myths—because all stories spring from those stories, really. Even this one. Funny, heart-wrenching, and wholly original, this debut novel by Emil Ostrovski explores the nature of family, love, friendship, fate, fatherhood, and myth.








My phone rings, but I don't get up.

In my dream, the teacher hands out frogs, living frogs, and lectures: “Frogs produce smaller air bubbles than humans, who in turn produce smaller air bubbles than llamas. We find this out by drowning the species in question, of course. Please drown your frog and make sure to measure the diameter of its air bubbles, rounding to the nearest significant digit. Tomorrow we’ll measure the bubbles produced by our lab partners, and the day after that, the students that are left will move on to the llamas.” It makes no sense at all, but so it goes with my dreams. Some people dream of epic heroes’ quests, of saving the universe from a great evil, and I get dreams about the differentiation of air bubbles across species.

Around nine I roll myself into a sitting position, finger the gunk out of my eyes, examine it for a moment, and then launch it across the room to where I don’t have to immediately deal with it. My roommate’s snores filter down from the top bunk. 

My cell is on my desk. The blinking red light of a missed call flashes across the room. Damn. I missed Bob. I try calling her back, but she doesn’t answer. She’s always losing her phone, misplacing it; broke it a few times from chucking it, because she couldn’t get the idiotskaya electronica to work.

I call my grandma “Bob” because I’m too lazy to bother with the alternatives; namely, “Babushka,”“Baba,” and “starypur,” the Russian version of old fart. Bob has Alzheimer’s, and it’s my birthday, so her call means today’s one of those days, or maybe just one of those moments, a flash, when she remembers me.

Partly to distract myself from the guilt, but mostly out of habit, I turn on my computer and wait for Windows to load. I don’t capitalize “god” but I always capitalize “Windows.” I spend much of my life in front of a screen, plugged into the matrix, looking through a Window into my virtual life. Still waiting on a black dude with a name that sounds like a drug to show up and teach me kung fu, though.

I log in to Facebook and I’m so depressed I want to laugh. Fifteen Facebook friends have wished me a happy birthday so far. I’ve never really cared about birthdays, honestly—I mean, it’s just another day—but to see all these people, most of whom I don’t know or in a few years won’t remember, wishing me a happy birthday makes me feel like I should care. Like it should be a special day, like it should mean something.

I think I hate Facebook.

I lean back in my chair and stare out the window. When I’m thirty years old, will I still get a bunch of people I don’t know wishing me a happy birthday? Will that number dwindle over the years? Will, year by year, some people who’ve forgotten me remember and some people who’ve remembered me forget? What’s the point of it all, for any of us, if that’s the way it goes—if the way it ends is with me logging into Facebook at ninety years old, bald and fat and wearing a diaper and not remembering how to get to the toilet, which is why I’m wearing a diaper in the first place, and seeing, what? Fifteen people I don’t know wishing me a happy birthday? And each of my fifteen with fifteen of their own, on and on, a miserable network of Happy Birthday Facebook wishes connecting the entire world, the entire human race, until one day we nuke ourselves and it all goes black and there are no more happy birthdays for anyone.

Sometimes I get like this, depressed I mean, but I’m not one of those crazies, you know, a danger to themselves and others, nothing like that. Never even contemplated suicide, though in a few seconds I will be contemplating jumping out a window. It’s hot—eighty, maybe more; my T-shirt’s wet on my body, and it feels more miserable than it has any right to for a May morning in our great moose- infested state of Maine. I wheel over to open the window, slide it all the way up. I have to stand so I can reach the screen, to slide it down into place. Instead I stick my hand out.

What if I jump? What if I jump, now? I don’t want to die, but getting hurt would be kind of nice, you know? Like two years ago, when I got my appendix out. Everyone from class sent Get Well cards and Tommy skipped school to spend a day with me playing video games in the hospital. Yeah, that’s selfish, but remembering your friend because he almost kicked it is just as selfish.

I turn away from the window. The attention would last a couple weeks, max. Then everyone would go back to their own lives and everything would be the same. But unlike when I got my appendix out, I might be crippled for life.

I walk on over to my desk, pull open a drawer, shuffle through video game boxes and CDs and pencils and pens and a worn pink eraser I never use but bring to school every quarter anyway. I grab the bottle of pills, sit back down on my chair, and stare at the bottle. Painkillers. From a few months back, when I got into a fight with a fence over the arbitrary authority by which it goes about the supremely arrogant task of delineating space. The fence won the tiff, but, fractured ankle aside, I like to think I’ll win the war. I set the painkillers on the desk, and check under my bed. That’s where I keep my water, but there isn’t any left, so I stuff the pills in my pocket.

“Hey,” comes my roommate Alan’s I’m-still-three-quarters-sleeping voice.

I spin round. “Hey,” I say, too loud.

He frowns at me, head about three inches off the pillow, and says, “Feel like I wanted to say something to you. But I forget. I’ll remember.”

“That’s all right.” 

“Jack,” he says, suddenly concerned. “It is a Saturday, right?”

“Yeah,” I say. “No worries.”

“Phew,” he says. His head drops back down. Almost every Saturday Alan groggily asks me if it’s really the weekend—like he can’t quite believe it himself. He’s a nice guy, Alan, as nice a roommate as you could hope for, but we don’t really do anything together aside from, well, sleeping together. .It’s just that kind of a relationship.

I have my hand on our doorknob when--voices in the hall. When they’re gone I nudge the door open and head for the bathroom. A guy’s in the shower, singing something about how we’re meant to be together in a voice that he really should keep a firm leash and a choke collar on if he insists on taking it out in public.

I set the bottle of pills on the shelf below the mirror. My reflection has a zit coming up on his forehead. It hurts to touch. He squeezes anyway, and bites at the inside of his lip. It explodes; a bit of yellow-white pus hits him in the eye and slides down, down, like a tear.

How many pills will kill me and how many will almost kill me? That is the question. It’s a fine line, probably. I open the bottle, look inside, and frown. Pull the cotton ball out.

I turn on the faucet. And hold my hands under the warm water. Close my eyes. Breathe. Breathe. I’m about to down my first pill when my cell rings. Once, twice, three times. The guy in the shower stops singing.

My breath catches when I see the number. 





May 12th – Unconventional Librarian – Guest Post

May 12th – Buried In Books – Review

May 12th – The Compulsive Reader – Review

May 13th – The Bookish Confections – Review/Excerpt

May 13th – Books With Bite – Review

May 13th – Bibliophilia, Please – Interview/Guest Post

May 14th – What A Nerd Girl Says – Review/Interview

May 14th – Live To Read - Krystal – Review

May 14th – The Happy Booker – Review/GP

May 14th – LRB Guest Post – Review

May 15th – Kaidans Seduction – Review

May 15th – Escaping One Book At A Time – Review

May 15th – Alice Marvels – Review

May 15th – Scott Reads It! – Review

May 16th – DanaSquare – Review

May 16th – Paranormal Book Club – Guest Post

May 16th – Books Complete Me – Review

May 16th – The-Society.Net – Review/Playlist

May 16th – Book Loving Mom – Review



“I'm twenty-three. Rather than give you a witty, self-deprecating account of the trials and tribulations of my twenty-three year old, suburban, upper-middle class, went-to-a-girl's-liberal-arts-college life, I'll admit that I haven't really done anything much worth reading about. So in lieu of providing you with my biography, I will recommend that you read Desmond Tutu's. Here. Why Desmond Tutu? Well, I've always liked his name.”





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