Spotlight Saturday: Guest Post and Giveaway with Jaye Frances, author of The Possibilities of Amy

Hi, everyone!

Welcome to another edition of Spotlight Saturday at Darlene's Book Nook, where we feature authors and their books!

We will be joined today by Jaye Frances.


About Jaye:

Jaye Frances is the author of The Kure, a paranormal-occult romance novel, The Possibilities of Amy, a coming-of-age romance novella, The Cruise-All That Glitters, a humorous adult satire about love on the high seas, The Beach, a sci-fi supernatural tale about a man who is given the opportunity to receive his ultimate wish, and Love Travels Forever, a collection of poignant short stories and essays. She is also a featured columnist for the NUSA SUN magazine. Born in the Midwest, Jaye readily admits that her life’s destination has been the result of an open mind and a curiosity about all things irreverent. When she’s not consumed by her writing, Jaye enjoys cooking, traveling to all places tropical and “beachy” and taking pictures—lots of pictures—many of which find their way to her website. Jaye lives on the central gulf coast of Florida, sharing her home with one husband, six computers, four cameras, and several hundred pairs of shoes.

CONNECT ONLINE WITH JAYE:

Website| Goodreads | Blog | Facebook

Welcome to Darlene's Book Nook, Jaye!

Jaye has written a guest post, so I will now turn the floor over to her!

Thank you, Darlene, for hosting me today on Darlene’s Book Nook. I really appreciate the opportunity to give your readers a sneak peek at my coming-of-age romance novella, The Possibilities of Amy, and to provide a little background of the story.

How often have we heard the phrase “If I only knew then what I know now, things would have turned out different.” It really hit home a few years ago, after attending my twenty-fifth high-school reunion. After re-introducing myself to a past classmate—one I had paid little attention to while in school—I learned he had carried a torch for me all through our senior year, and for years beyond. I couldn’t help but wonder . . . what might have happened, what other path might I have chosen, if I had only known how he felt.

The Possibilities of Amy takes a reminiscent journey back to high school, to the days of naïve freedoms, not-so-innocent curiosities, and the unavoidable heartbreaks of youth. David, the main character, is straddling the lonely line between adolescence and adulthood, taking those cautious and sometimes confusing first steps toward maturity. His entire world is changed, however, when Amy, a transfer student, walks into the classroom. She is beautiful, intelligent, and friendly—a combination that arouses hope and possibility, and has David reconsidering his usually shy and withdrawn approach to girls, especially pretty ones.

Keeping his true feelings for Amy a secret, David learns his friends have also taken a shine to her, and are competitively driven to see who can be the first to seduce her.

In the following excerpt, David has just found out that one of his buddies, Pete, is taking Amy on a date. As his imagination takes over, David’s anxiety and misery overwhelm him as he realizes it could have been him going out with Amy—if only he had asked her first.

I had spent most of the lunch hour sitting inside an unoccupied classroom that would soon become Senior English. Outside, half the school’s population was milling around the campus, the constant drone of a thousand conversations in seductive contrast to the tomb-like quiet of the empty room.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Amy going out with Pete. I felt as if some malevolent specter had reached deep into my gut, indiscriminately ripping and tearing, mutilating the very fabric that held me together.

I looked across the sea of empty desks. Amy’s seat was toward the back. I sat six rows in front of her and three across. It was the worst possible arrangement for contact. We might as well have been living in separate cities.

“Maybe he’ll get sick.” I said it out loud, surprising myself. I turned around and checked, just to make sure I was still alone. I finished the thought under my breath, speculating about the probability of making Pete physically ill with sheer willpower: Maybe he’ll inhale some fumes in chem lab and puke his brains out.

I wondered if he would cut his afternoon classes and use the time to get ready for his date. I was sure he would use The Checklist. Last year he had given me a copy (for my own good, he’d told me), and then insisted we review it together. So I knew every detail, including item number eight: tucking a fresh Trojan (ribbed for her pleasure) in the picture slot of his wallet. A year ago, it had been fun, calling out item number six or thirteen, like it was some kind of code, then smiling at each other, knowing no one else had any idea what we were talking about. But this was different . . . Pete was getting ready to seduce Amy.

Number one on The Checklist was car cleaning. He would spend an hour vacuuming and washing his ‘62 Chevy Impala. Then he’d hand-polish the satin silver exterior until it gleamed, hoping to impress her with the last traces of an orange and yellow sunset reflecting off the deep luster of the Chevy’s metallic paint.

After arriving to pick her up, he would escort her to his car and open the door for her—not because he was a gentleman, but to watch her legs swing in. Before closing the door, he would wait until she sat back into the butter-soft tuck and roll, to see her reaction as she felt the leather against her skin. Pete believed all girls loved the feel of leather against their skin.

Number fourteen on The Checklist was to get her sitting beside him from the very beginning of the date. And if he sensed a bit of hesitation or shyness, he had devised a method to bring even the most reluctant into compliance. Feigning thirst, he would detour through McDonalds to pick up a Coke. He would order only one—a large—and then taste-tease, holding it back, making her slide over to take a sip. He’d often bragged about this technique—his “strategy” he called it.

After parking near the back of the drive-in, he would make idle chitchat, careful not to reveal his agenda with any sudden moves or accidental groping. He’d told me that keeping his hands to himself—even throughout the entire length of the first movie—would lull any girl into believing his intentions were trustworthy. Then, five minutes into the second feature, he would begin.

First, he would softly stroke her arm, his touch light and relaxing. Hypnotic, he called it. After several minutes, his other hand would fall easily, naturally to her thigh. He would rest it there, testing, confirming his presence was not a trespass. Then moving slowly, his fingers would inch their way closer.

I lowered my head until it rested on the desk. It was heartbreaking—knowing that tonight, my precious Amy would be with Pete. But the larger truth was downright crippling: She had accepted Pete’s invitation, which meant she probably would have accepted mine.

Thanks so much for joining us today, Jaye!

One lucky winner will win a digital copy of The Possibilities of Amy by Jaye Frances.

Amy is the ultimate trophy girl—gorgeous face, killer body, and a vivacious personality. But there’s something else about her, something that makes her even more special. Amy is new. A transfer student from out of state, she’s starting her senior year without knowing a soul. And that means she’s up for grabs, available.

Infatuated from the moment he sees her, David is determined to meet Amy, and if the fates are willing, to spend the rest of his life with her. But his shyness prevents him from approaching her—until his friends devise a contest to determine who will be the first to prove their manhood by seducing her.

Buy Links:

Amazon US /  Amazon UK

To enter the giveaway, you must complete the Rafflecopter entry form below.

The giveaway is open worldwide and will close at 12:00 AM CST on January 19, 2013.

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