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N. N. Light
1 day ago6 min read

Beating in Time by MJ Schiller is a New Year New Books Fete pick #rockstarromance #rockromance #romance #newyear #giveaway



Title: BEATING IN TIME

 

Author: M.J. Schiller

 

Genre: Contemporary romance, Rock romance

 

Book Blurb: 


Once upon a time, their hearts beat as one…


Drummer Levi Cannon knows that all the platinum records in the world won’t fill the Remi-sized hole in his heart.


I left Last Chance Beach and Remington Lawson behind when I took my shot at fame and fortune, but I had no idea what I was sacrificing. Now that a fundraiser has brought me home, I want more than anything to win her back. But it’s been eight years. A bridge may connect the island to the mainland, but am I a fool to think I can build something to span the chasm of all those years?


Remi Boyd knows her love for her brother’s best friend has never died.


But what kind of fool would I be to trust him again after he broke my heart? I was a child when he left. Now I’m a woman who’s been a wife and I’m also a mother to the most precious girl in the world. I can’t drag her through some torrid affair, and that is clearly all Levi can offer me.


Music took him away. Music brought him back. But is it too late to recapture what they once had? Or can Last Chance Beach work its magic for them?

 

Excerpt:

 

When I came in the house, I could hear Wy playing guitar on the couch in the living room, which was kind of strange. He usually saved that for the garage. And it was acoustic guitar, which was doubly strange. When I came around the wall separating the kitchen from the living room, Wyatt let out a loud whistle.

 

“Whoo! Look at you, little sis. Levi doesn’t stand a chance tonight.”

 

My cheeks warmed. “Oh, quit it. Thank you for watching Misty again. I swear I’ll pay you back next week, when, you know, Levi is gone.” I buried the thought and suddenly noticed that Wyatt had an odd grin on his face. “You’re in a good mood tonight.”

 

“I am?” He strummed the guitar dramatically.

 

I smiled. “Yes. You are.” I studied him. “What’s up?”

 

“Up?” he parroted, again sweeping his hand theatrically across the strings.

 

I came into the room more to get a better view of him. “Why do you have that thing in your strings? Is it like the baseball cards in the bike spokes kind of thing?”

 

“What, this?” He removed it. “How did that get there?” Examining it, he commented, “It has your name on it.”

 

“It does?” A flutter of excitement hit me. “Let me see that.” I snatched it from his hand and sat on an ottoman opposite him, pulling back the flap of the envelope to read the fancy card inside.

 

TONIGHT IS OUR NIGHT, BABE, A NIGHT ON THE TOWN

AND FOR YOU MY SWEET LADY ADVENTURES ABOUND.

FOLLOW THE CLUES TO SEE WHAT’S IN STORE

YOUR FIRST HINT CAN BE FOUND ON THE NEXT FLOOR.

 

I bit my bottom lip. “He made me a scavenger hunt?”

 

Wyatt shrugged. “It looks like it.”

 

I could tell he wasn’t as innocent as he was trying to act. I reread the card. “On the next floor…the next floor of what?”

 

He put the guitar aside and stood. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

 

“Hmm. Could he mean here? Did he hide another clue here?”

 

Wyatt jerked his head toward the stairs. “I don’t know. Maybe you should check.”

 

I scrambled up the stairs—with less grace than I should have in a dress—and he trailed me. At the top, the door to the boys’ bedroom—which had once been my bedroom—had a sheet of paper on it with a big red X, and it was suspiciously quiet.

 

I slid him a look. “Where are the kids?”

 

“Kids? What kids?”

 

I rotated the handle slowly and opened the door. My heart soared when I peeked inside. Kane, Beck, and Misty sat on the bed, quiet as church mice, except for the giggling. The boys were dressed in little tuxes, and Misty had on the cutest pink and white gingham dress with a matching purse. Both of the boys held silk-covered pillows, each with a tented card in the middle.

 

I glanced back at Wyatt, trying to tame my grin. “He went all out, didn’t he?”

 

He nodded.

 

“Wow, Aunt Remi. You look nice,” Kane said.

 

“Oh. Well, thank you.” I gestured. “Are those cards for me?”

 

He peered at his dad and shrugged.

 

“Which one should I read first?”

 

The boys synchronized their shrugs, which was again adorable.

 

“Hmm. You’re no help,” I said with a faux frown. I extended my hand over Kane’s, then shifted to Beck’s and hesitated before snatching the one off Kane’s pillow. I read aloud.

 

TO FIND THE NEXT CLUE YOU’VE NOT LONG TO WAIT,

JUST TRAVEL TO WHERE YOU FIND CITY AND STATE.

IF YOU SEARCH UNDER EVERY DARK ROCK THAT YOU KNOW,

YOU’LL GET THE NEXT CLUE, AND AWAY YOU CAN GO.

 

“I wonder what that could mean?” I said to the boys with wide eyes.

 

“Do mine, Mommy, do mine!” Misty cried.

 

I let out an exaggerated gasp. “You have one too?”

 

She nodded enthusiastically. Beck’s face fell.

 

“Okay. But Beck’s first.” I snagged it, giving him a smile. “Thank you for helping with this, by the way.”

 

Misty was vibrating with excitement. “It’s fun!”

 

“Yes it is.” I scanned the inside of the tent.

 

 

IF YOU THOUGHT THIS A FURTHER HINT, YOU’RE WRONG

YOU’LL GET NO MORE INFO TO HELP YOU ALONG

AS FAR AS CLUES GO, IT’S A SPARE

IN FACT, IT’LL LEAD YOU EXACTLY NOWHERE.

 

Wyatt grasped my shoulders and leaned up to whisper in my ear. “It’s just so Beck feels included. Levi’s idea.”

 

“Very mysterious,” I said, tapping the card in my palm. I angled my body toward Misty. “Okay. What about you, missy? Where’s your clue?”

 

She twisted her hips from side-to-side. “I don’t have a clue.”

 

I glanced at Wyatt, who gave me no indication of what she could mean. “But I thought you said you had something for me to do?”

 

She held her purse out proudly. It had a drawstring opening that were the handles.

 

Kane and Beck strained to see what was inside. I withdrew a little white box wrapped with a red silk ribbon.

 

This looks like a jewelry box. I feel so bad for having doubted him.

 

I was embarrassed to see that I was trembling when I opened it. Against a satiny background lay a necklace with a stunning, round, blown-glass pendant designed with swirls of blues and greens like the ocean. It seemed to glow with a light from within.

 

“Oh, my gosh,” I breathed. “This is beautiful.” I swallowed, gazing at Wyatt with tears in my eyes.

 

“Come here,” he said softly, sounding a tad choked up himself. “Let me help you put it on.”

 

I went to him obediently.

 

Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):

 

 



 





 

It’s a brand-new year, full of possibilities. Did you make any resolutions/goals for 2025? If so, please share one.

 

I plan to be more prayerful in 2025. I’m going to put alarms on my phone throughout the day to make me more mindful. As far as books are concerned, I want to finish DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS and DEVIL’S ADVOCATE.

 

Why is your featured book a must-read in 2025?

 

You have to read it because then you can read BASSIST’S INSTINCTS, releasing January 1! And Remi and Levi’s story is a second chance, grew up together book, where the hero sends the heroine on a treasure hunt like she did for him when they were kids.

 

Giveaway –

 

One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.

 

 

Open internationally.

 

Runs January 1 – 31, 2025

 

Drawing will be held on February 3, 2025. 

 

Author Biography:

 

Bestselling author M.J. Schiller is a retired lunch lady/romance-romantic suspense writer. She enjoys writing novels whose characters include rock stars, desert princes, teachers, futuristic Knights, construction workers, cops, and a wide variety of others. In her mind everybody has a romance. She is the mother of a twenty-nine-year-old and three twenty-seven-year-olds. That's right, triplets! She likes to escape from life on occasion by pretending to be a rock star at karaoke. However…you won’t be seeing her name on any record labels soon.

 

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