Title: Rewrites of the Heart
Author: Terry Newman
Genre: Paranormal romantic comedy
Book Blurb:
JJ Spritely, romance author, writes characters that jump off the page. Figuratively, that is. She never expects them to make a literal leap off the page and smack dab into her world. But Alex Zurich and Blake Teesdale do just that. And they’re on a mission to help JJ write her own personal love story with a man she recently met, Kennedy King Cooper.
A history professor, Cooper doesn’t see the value of romance novels and he has even less regard for those who write them. Until he meets a woman who haunts his thoughts.
There’s only one small snag in Alex’s and Blake’s plan…okay…two rather large snags. JJ wants nothing to do with Cooper. The other snag? Alex and Blake aren’t able to return to the pages of their own book.
Will JJ ever write her own love story? And will it be with Cooper? Will Alex and Blake return to the pages of their own book?
Excerpt:
On the surface, it appeared the main characters from her current work in progress were standing in her office. For apparently no good reason. Not that an obviously good reason for them being there would make it easier to understand.
She felt the two staring down at her. A bit unnerving to say the least. She slowly sat up. “Be careful,” the female cautioned. “You were out for a while.” Attempting to stand, JJ quickly determined it was beyond her capabilities, at least for the moment. She sat, closed her eyes, and sighed deeply.
What kind of trick is my mind playing on me? She opened her eyes again and scrutinized the man who said he was Blake Teesdale, the hero from her book, Love’s Surprise.
At six feet, he certainly fit the bill. He had black, wavy, unruly hair that danced wildly from side to side as he talked. The more animated his speech, the wilder his hair jostled about his tanned, ruggedly handsome face. And the more passionate he appeared on the topic at hand, the more his hair bounced.
It really didn’t matter what he talked about, she recalled from the description she had painted of him, he was passionate about everything. And that was the trait that initially drew Alex Zurich to him. Now, it was coming back to her. The heroine also loved the man because he could make her laugh.
And Alex, well, she was beauty personified. JJ liked to think she endowed her with every good quality she personally lacked. She also envisioned this fictional character as a classic beauty—something that no one had ever accused her of being.
JJ took another look at her. At nearly five foot nine inches, the woman had a small waist, slender hips, and was well-endowed. Just enough to make her extremely attractive and mildly seductive. All of this was set off by her long, shapely legs which were seldom hidden by a pair of jeans. In so many ways, she was a throwback to the 1940s pin-up model.
If men were initially attracted to her because of her body, they were equally as intrigued by her face. Her hair framed green eyes that flashed when she was angry but sparkled like expertly cut emeralds when she laughed.
Now that she looked at them in more detail, JJ realized she did know them. Why, of course, they were creations of hers, even though she couldn’t explain how they came to be standing in front of her.
“I smell coffee,” she said, slowly emerging from her fog-like state. “Is there any left? I could really go for a cup right about now.” Actually, I could use a stronger type of beverage, but coffee will have to do.
“Oh, yeah, there’s a quite a bit left,” Blake said, his voice brightening up a bit. “I’ll get you a cup.”
“I didn’t know you drank my favorite coffee blend. French roast.” JJ could hear Blake close a kitchen cabinet door. “What a coincidence.”
Letting her guard down some, she couldn’t help but smile as she answered. “Why do you think it’s your favorite?” What am I saying, talking to him like he’s really from my book?
Blake entered the room and handed her the cup, then leaned casually against her desk so he was across from her.
“Quite clever. Quite clever,” he commented.
Alex positioned herself next to JJ on the sofa.
JJ took the coffee and tried to lift an eyebrow like she had some of her favorite characters do. But they refused to work independently of each other. She had to settle for communicating with words. “How so?”
“Most people, upon discovering I’m English, naturally assume I drink only tea. But no, you break that stereotypical mold and make me an avid coffee lover. Touché.”
With some hot java circulating through her system, she could feel that helium in her head dissipating. The violent pounding eased. As her head cleared, she relaxed a bit. Surprisingly, she was beginning to feel quite at ease with these two intruders—whoever they were.
Then Alex evidently decided it was time to raise the real reason for their visit in a little more detail. She turned her body, so she faced JJ.
“Can’t you see you two were made for each other?”
“Of course,” the Englishman agreed.
JJ swiftly looked in Blake’s direction as she attempted to make sense of the conversation.
“Think of the encounter as a scene from one of your novels. All you need to do is kiss him, jump him, and get on with the good part of the relationship.”
At that, she gagged and spit out her coffee. Alex glared at him.
“What?” he said, seemingly innocently. “I was only agreeing with you.”
“What he’s trying to say is that your chance meeting sounds exactly like something you’d write in one of your novels. And you know darn well that if you had written this, and you weren’t the main character of this episode, as you are, the two of you would be approaching a love scene by now.”
She looked at them blankly. “And just who and what are you talking about?”
“Why Professor Kennedy King Cooper, of course. And don’t try to tell me you don’t remember him. You have to be totally out of it not to take note of a hunk like him.”
She was so stunned by the subject of the conversation, she didn’t even question how they knew about this dismal episode in her life. She hurriedly countered their amazingly stupid suggestion. The audacity of these two.
That man was the most ill-mannered, arrogant… She stopped herself in mid-thought and turned toward Alex before she continued.
“Oh, come on. You mean that man in the bookstore? I’ll never see him again. And thank goodness for that. He’s a sexist, elitist egotist.”
“You liked him that much,” Blake mumbled. Alex nudged him in the ribs.
“What?”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rewrites-of-the-heart-terry-newman/1142841043?ean=9781509246533
Google Play Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Terry_Newman_Rewrites_of_the_Heart?id=9FmqEAAAQBAJ&hl=en_US&gl=US
What makes your featured book a must-read?
If you love to laugh and believe the world needs more lightheartedness, then you’ll consider Rewrites of the Heart a must-read. You’ll discover the chaos two fictional character create when they jump out of the pages of their story fueled by the mission of helping their creator, JJ Spritely, romance author, write her own happily-ever-after. Of course, JJ can’t stand the man they’ve chosen. But, does that stop them?
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $10 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally. You must have a valid Amazon US or Amazon Canada account to win.
Runs June 29 – July 6, 2023.
Winner will be drawn on July 7, 2023.
Author Biography:
Two things you should know about me: I have an offbeat sense of humor and characters are constantly talking to me, trying to get me to tell their stories. Other than that, I’m a normal person.
I’ve spent most of my adult life writing in some fashion, from small-town reporter, to editor-in-chief and ghostwriter for a national natural health publishing firm. The last decade and a half I’ve worked as a freelance writer, penning ebooks that range from starting a doula services business to Native American herbs.
I’ve finally took the plunge to fiction after pushing, oh, so many doubts aside. My first novel with The Wild Rose Press, Heartquake, won a 4.5 crowned heart review with Ind’tale Magazine.
All my books are set in fictional towns in northeast Ohio, where I grew up, and I write about things I love—like coffee.
I have a daughter, a son-in-law, and a grandpuppy and live in North Lima, a real town in northeast Ohio with all my characters. Yes, it does get crowded.
Social Media Links:
Facebook: Terry Newman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tnewmanwrites