Publication date: September 10th 2014
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
Jack Daniels is the cure to all evils.
Sex should be casual and, preferably, anonymous.
Giving a damn is for nurses, philanthropists and suicide hotlines.
My name is Mathew Rogers and those are the values I built my adult life around. They are also the reason I had to forsake everything I loved in Seattle and embark on a solitary road trip across the country, with no direction other than searching for thenext small town, the next girl, and the closest liquor store.
Boredom, frustration and a series of unfortunate decisions led me to the rickety-ass town of Jolene, Alabama—a town I wanted to leave behind from the moment I passed the welcome sign. But it was there where I met her. The girl who made me question everything I’ve always believed in, and the only one who has ever had the power to break my heart.
Her name is Lexie.
She’s beautiful, and I’m pretty sure she hates me.
And for once in my life, I give enough of a damn that I keep finding a reason to stay.
Goodreads: https://www.
Sex should be casual and, preferably, anonymous.
Giving a damn is for nurses, philanthropists and suicide hotlines.
My name is Mathew Rogers and those are the values I built my adult life around. They are also the reason I had to forsake everything I loved in Seattle and embark on a solitary road trip across the country, with no direction other than searching for thenext small town, the next girl, and the closest liquor store.
Boredom, frustration and a series of unfortunate decisions led me to the rickety-ass town of Jolene, Alabama—a town I wanted to leave behind from the moment I passed the welcome sign. But it was there where I met her. The girl who made me question everything I’ve always believed in, and the only one who has ever had the power to break my heart.
Her name is Lexie.
She’s beautiful, and I’m pretty sure she hates me.
And for once in my life, I give enough of a damn that I keep finding a reason to stay.
Excerpts
#1:
“Hey there,” a chipper voice with a very noticeable drawl sounds to my
right.
Lifting my head to acknowledge the source of the voice, through my peripheral vision I see a narrow waist
covered in navy fabric and a hand with purple nail polish and a girly skull
ring, but I don’t bother to look at her further. I just can’t. I know she’ll be
some nice southern-hospitality enthusiast trying to start a conversation, and
welcome me to this town. Being one hundred percent sure that I’ll lose it if
I’m subjected to that I bend my elbows, anchor them on the table and burry my
head in my palms.
“Welcome to The Jukebox. I’m Lexie.”
I roll my eyes at her stupid name. Of
course you’re a Lexie.
“Excuse me, do you have a problem with Lexies?” she asks, the previous
friendliness in her voice completely gone.
Unlike most people, I don’t flinch, frown or apologize when I’m called
out on my rudeness. I’m me and I don’t give a fuck. Without removing my head
from my hands, I reply the only thing I can think of. “No, I don’t.”
“Good, ‘cause you’re stuck with me . . . Lexie . . . your waitress . . .
up here.” Her cheery tone is back, obviously trying to be cute with me.
Usually I’d take her cue and have some flirty fun, and if she ranks
seven or up, I’d put some mild effort, leave her a big fat tip and take her
home for the night. But as previously stated, I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE. Besides,
considering how hard she’s trying to be nice, I bet she’s no more than a five
in the looks department. With that in mind, I give her a sarcastic thumbs-up and
return my hand to its place, holding my aching head up.
She chuckles. “Come on. You’re really not gonna even look at me?”
And now she’s pushed me too far.
I puff a lung full of air. “No, I’m not.” With my eyes fixed on the
tabletop, I continue. “Listen, sweetheart, I’m betting you were prom queen of
this shithole, and for that reason you’re sure that if I just look at you,
we’ll fall in love, get married, and you’ll get to quit your shitty-ass waiting
job and actually be someone in life. But I’m not interested. I’ve had about
five of you this week alone, and I’m just sick of it. So why don’t you quit
with the chit-chat and do your fucking job, which is not that hard, by the
way.”
She takes in a sharp
intake of breath and lets it out in a loaded sigh. “Wow. Okaaay then. I’m so
happy we got that settled. Are you ready to hear the specials, order or leave?”
# 2:
Tanie laughs, and raises a brow. “He’s hot.”
“That he is,” I reply.
Jill yells, “Water break,” behind us.
The two girls abandon the ball and run breathless toward us, Matthew
trailing behind.
“You, too, Matthew.” She waves him over and, to my absolutely horror,
adds, “These gals thought you might be hot. Actually, they both said you were,
and by the looks of the sweat in your hair, I think a little water break’ll be
good for you.”
“Is that right?” He quirks his lips as he strides casually toward Jill.
His gaze travels from Jill to me to Tanie, and then back to me, where it
lingers. I’m at the same time humiliated and dying to roll on my back and laugh
until my stomach hurts, but all I can do is stare at him. His eyes are wide and
filled with mirth. He stops right in front of me.
“You all think right.
I’m really hot.”
Meet the Characters
Matt is a rich, big city, unapologetic asshole who prides himself on not
caring about things or people. He spends without planning, drinks without
thinking and seduces without feeling. To him, the world is a big Mathew party,
and he loves it.
Lexie, on the other hand, is a sweet, small town girl who cares a lot
about everyone around her. Yes, she has a strong personality and as a general
rule takes no bullshit, but she’s also attentive to strangers and willing to
put her own life on hold for the sake of those she loves.
In a nutshell, Lexie and Mathew seem like complete opposites, but once
they open up to each other, they find that they’re actually more alike than
either of them could ever imagine.
Creating the Cover
Working with Sarah Hansen (Okay Creations) on the cover of THE REASON I
STAY was a really fun and easy process.
Because I had just started writing the book I had little to no
expectations about what the cover would look like. I didn’t have a scene I
wanted to portrait, or anything specific I wanted to add. All I knew at the
time was that I wanted it to be pretty. So, I sent Sarah an email with a brief
description of the story and my main characters and asked her to work her
magic.
For about a week she sent me some pictures to consider, and though there
were some pretty awesome images in the bunch, neither of us was “feeling it”.
Then, on a Tuesday morning I woke up to an email from Sarah with a picture she
was obsessed with. When I looked at it, I was obsessed with it too.
That girl was Lexie and the
image was understated, romantic, sexy, emotional and a perfect representation
of the book. From then on we agreed to keep the rest of the design clean and
simple like the image and within a few days, I had the cover of my dreams.
Thanks, Sarah! <3
10 Random things about THE REASON I STAY
1-
THE REASON
I STAY was originally entitled Madeleine, which was also Lexie’s original name.
2-
In my
first outline the story was set in LA and Matt worked as a special effects
makeup artist for the film industry.
3-
Creating
the fictional town of Jolene, Alabama, was suggestion from my husband.
4-
Whenever I
describe the color of Lexie’s nail polish in the book, I’m actually describing
the color I had on that week.
5-
Lexie was
originally a strawberry blonde, but then I saw the photo that would become the
cover of the book and I knew she was a golden blonde.
6-
It took me
a solid month to write chapter six. When I finally finished it, I cried and
danced like a crazy person, which scared my cat so badly she spent the
afternoon behind the fridge.
7-
Lexie’s
car is named Quick in honor of my bunny, Quicksilver. He had two strokes in
February and spent about two months recovering on my lap while I wrote. He’s
doing amazing now, by the way.
8-
All of my
beta readers received little cameos. They were very happy about them.
9-
Like Matt,
I’ve never had chocolate chip pancakes. Like Lexie, I find the concept
fantastic.
10-
Cash,
Lexie’s dog was created in honor of one of my husband’s childhood dogs who
suffered a lot in the hands of mean people, but was thoroughly loved by his
human best friend.
Goodreads: https://www.
Purchase:
Amazon US ---->
http://www.amazon.com/
Amazon UK ---->
http://www.amazon.co.
Amazon AU ---->
https://www.amazon.com.
Amazon CA ---->
http://www.amazon.ca/
Amazon US ---->
http://www.amazon.com/Amazon UK ---->
http://www.amazon.co.Amazon AU ---->
https://www.amazon.com.Amazon CA ---->
http://www.amazon.ca/
Hopeless dreamer, tattoo enthusiast, Disney addict and hoarder of nail polishes and vegan recipes. Patty lives with her husband, her crazy cat, two dogs and elderly bunny in a house frequently visited by wild birds and chipmunks.
Author links:
boo
GIVEAWAY
Blitz-wide giveaway
Open INTL - Ends September 22nd
--15x eBook copies of The Reason I Stay
No comments:
Post a Comment