Spotlight: Back to December by Heather McCoubrey

I am thrilled to spread the word about the release of the lovely and talented Heather McCoubrey's new book, Back to December. Today is the day, y'all! Here is a sneak peek at the incredible tale of heartbreak and love that Heather has written. It all starts with this beautiful cover...

Release Date: June 20, 2014

Thanks to an abusive mother and an absent father, Anna Blackhurst has only known the love of two people: her Gram and her best friend, Niki.

When Anna meets Cooper Reed in a smoky club, she’s immediately drawn to his good looks but isn’t prepared to open herself up to a relationship. As time passes, Anna finds herself falling in love with Cooper and she begins to rethink her future. Maybe, despite her childhood, she can have a happy-ever-after.

But when her mother is in a terrible accident, she again sinks her claws into Anna and Anna’s world is thrown upside down. Despite Cooper’s unwavering support, Anna walks away only to regret it immediately. In order to heal, not only herself, but her broken relationship, Anna must stand up for herself and accept that the only way she's going to be happy is if she grabs ahold of it herself. 

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Sounds like a great story, doesn't it? Heather was kind enough to provide an excerpt as well:

      “You spoil me,” she said quietly.

      “You deserve it.” Cooper lifted his head and led her over to the table. Pulling out her chair, he helped her sit and then pushed her chair in. He took the champagne out of the ice-filled bucket, expertly popped the cork, and filled their glasses. He took a rose out of the vase and offered it to her.       “For you, my love.”

      “Thank you,” she replied softly.

      He lifted the lid on the tray and pushed it closer to the table. “For my lady, we have grilled lobster tails, filet mignon, asparagus with a creamy hollandaise sauce and fresh dinner rolls,” Cooper gestured extravagantly.

      “It looks delicious, Cooper.”

      They’d met six months ago. Cooper Reed had fallen hard and fast for Anna Blackhurst. She took his breath away, rocked his foundation, and made him dream. He hadn’t been on steady ground since, but he didn’t care. She was his complete opposite, and everything he wanted for the rest of his life.

      Her tiny, slender frame made her look fragile, but Anna was as tough as steel when the occasion called for it. It always startled him when she would stand up to him, her slight frame quivering with emotion. Her eyes, a dark brown and too big for her face, would inevitably do him in.

      He’d always been a long hair guy, but hers was short—styled in a trendy pixie cut. The sleek, dark-auburn hair shone in the candlelight, and he knew from experience how silky soft it was. He longed to reach out and stroke it, to pull her closer and dine on her lips instead of the food in front of them.

       He couldn't wait a minute longer. Pushing his plate away, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a black velvet box.

      Closing his eyes briefly, he exhaled and stood up. Taking three steps over to Anna, he got down on one knee.

      “Cooper?” Anna asked uneasily.

      He took her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles. “Anna, my world changed the night I met you. You bring light into my life, you make me laugh, and you make me want to be a better man. You make me understand, for the first time, what love really means. You are the light of my life and I never want that light to go out. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you,” Cooper opened the box and showed her what was inside. “I love you, Anna. Will you marry me?”

      Anna closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. Pushing her chair back, she stood up. She placed her fingers on his cheek, tears flowing down hers. “I’m sorry, Cooper. No.”

      He watched her gather up her purse and walk over to the door.

      “I'm so sorry, Cooper,” she whispered.

      And taking his heart with her, she walked out.

      (Excerpt from Back to December by Heather McCoubrey, Copyright 2014.) 

                                                        ~~~~~~

                                             And now a few words from Heather herself...

I'd like to thank Glynis for having me on her blog today. I'm so happy to be here! So today I'm going to talk about my favorite part of being a writer. It's hard to pinpoint one aspect of writing to be my favorite. I love having the ability to be creative all the time, to stay home with my littles and watch them grow. I love creating characters and the world in which they live, creating the drama that keeps them apart and then will bring them together in the end. 

I love the unknown of a brand new story. I love discovering my characters; who they are and who'll they become. I love the journey the story takes me, step by step, and seeing which turns my characters will take the story. I even love the dead-ends my characters take me...sure, it's frustrating and annoying - but I learn more about my characters, and the story, by traveling down those dead-ends. 

But the thing I love the best, the thing that makes me push through those moments of block, the thing that has made me write since middle school - is writing the words "The End" and seeing the final product. Holding the book in my hands, knowing that I created it, knowing that other people read it and like it and want to share it with their friends. 

I hope you'll enjoy my second novel, BACK TO DECEMBER. I won't lie, Anna and Cooper put me through quite a bit of frustration. I rewrote their story three times and it certainly wasn't what I originally intended for it to be. But that's the beauty of my work. Anna and Cooper's story isn't mine, it's their's...Enjoy! xoxo

         

                                                                                            ~~~~~~

Heather McCoubrey is a native of Maine but having moved all over the U.S. as a child, she doesn’t sound like one. She’s been writing since middle school when a teacher taught her she could create her own stories instead of just reading them. That year she had some of her first poems published in the school magazine and from there she graduated to writing a full-length novel in high school (which has been collecting dust on her shelf ever since!). She is the self-published author of To Love Twice, her debut novel. Her second novel, Back to December, is scheduled to be released in June 2014 and the novel that’s been collecting dust on the shelf, Emily’s Choice, is scheduled to be released in October 2014. She also contributed a short story for A Kind of Mad Courage: Short Stories about Mothers (S)mothers and Others anthology. All proceeds go to the Guthy-Jackson Charitable Foundation for AI disorders. Heather resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, two children, Rex the chihuahua and Fatty the goldfish. When she’s not being super-mom and wife, she ekes out time to write, watch football, practice her British accent and dream of living on an island where it’s eighty degrees year-round.

                              Romantic Escapes (blog)  Facebook   Twitter   Goodreads   Google+

         Just on my way to buy Back to December. Want to tag along?  Amazon here we come! 

Meet My Main Character, Blog Hop!

I have been tagged by the very talented Celia Kennedy, author of Venus Rising and Charlotte’s Restrained to take part in this blog hop about the main character in my latest work in progress. I recently finished reading Charlotte’s Restrained and thoroughly enjoyed the international adventure taken by Charlotte and her motley group of friends. I found it to be full of humor, heart and beautiful destinations. What’s not to love?

What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?

My character’s name is Sydney Durand and in a word she is, well, me. The books in my French Twist series are based loosely on my real life French fairy tale. In the first book, French Twist, Sydney meets the gorgeous and talented Louis Durand and becomes his wife in a mere six months. In the sequel, French Toast, Sydney and Louis struggle through their first year of marriage, while planning their second and third weddings. (You’re intrigued, aren’t you?) I am currently working on the third and final book in the series, in which Sydney and Louis encounter an unexpected turn of events.

When and where is the story set?

The story takes place in the San Francisco area, and though I do not specify dates, it is clear that the story takes place in modern times.

What should we know about him/her?

Sydney is a strange bird. (Yes, that means that by extension, I am as well.) She is anxious, quick to jump to conclusions and has a “what if” list a mile long. But she is also smart, funny, compassionate and extremely generous. As a result of her anxious personality, Sydney carefully considers all facts before making a final decision. One glaring exception to this rule comes in the form of her husband, Louis Durand. And it would seem that fate is about to throw one more curve ball her way…

What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?

Sydney and Louis have had a very tumultuous year. Louis was laid off from his job six months into their relationship, causing a hasty marriage to keep him in the country. Then they planned two weddings in two different countries in order to ensure everyone’s satisfaction (most importantly the bride’s). As they look forward to setting into a quiet life together, Sydney discovers that she is pregnant.

What is the personal goal of the character?

From the moment that Sydney met Louis, her carefully planned life went out the window. Thankfully, she has come to realize that this doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Sydney’s goal when faced with impending motherhood is to figure out how to do it to the best of her ability. This will, no doubt, involve reading every book that she can get her hands on, interrogating every mother that she knows and trying her best not to freak out about the gargantuan upheaval that is about to take place in her life.  

Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?

The working title of the book is French Fry. I am afraid that I have been very busy with marketing lately and have only been able to write four chapters. I hope to make a lot more headway this summer!

When can we expect the book to be published?

I hope to have French Fry available in early 2015. Cross your fingers that Sydney cooperates with me. J

Thanks to the Chicklit Sisters, Pam Burk and Lorraine Campbell for tagging Celia, thereby allowing me to join this lovely blog hop! I am intrigued by the novels they have written together under the pen name, Ellie Campbell, and plan to add their works to my TBR list.

To keep things going, I have tagged another very talented person, Kathryn R. Biel, author of Good Intentions (2014) and Hold Her Down (2014). You’ll find Kathryn’s blog at http://kathrynbiel.blogspot.com/ I highly recommend stopping by often for a dose of Biel Blather!

For more information on my books, please visit this link.