KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!

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RYTHYM OF LOVE
A Sweet, Second Chance Romance
BY TINA NEWCOMB

Blurb

Sometimes we have to listen to our hearts to overcome our fears.

Kenzie Rivers’ happy place is on her peaceful Tennessee ranch, writing music. But that’s about to change when she promises her brother she’ll tour with his band—Knight Rivers—after they lose their female singer.

As if leaving home isn’t bad enough, ex-boyfriend Nick Marshall will be on the road with them.

Nick left town three years ago to pursue a career as a bass guitarist for an up-and-coming country singer. Now he’s back and accompanying Knight Rivers on tour as their new band manager. It seems fate is gifting him a second chance with the woman he could never forget.

Can sixteen weeks on the road finetune a sweet song of love for Nick and Kenzie, or will this tour end on a sour note?

RYTHYM OF LOVE
A Sweet, Second Chance Romance
BY TINA NEWCOMB

Excerpt

Kenzie turned off the highway and onto a county road that turned to dirt after three miles. She wove through dense trees where the sun barely filtered through. At one point, she emerged from the trees with a clear view of the Tennessee River in the distance. A sharp left and she was back in the thick ponderosa pines. A mile farther, she turned left and passed under a cypress arch with Knight carved across the top.

Dirt dusted her car as she drove around a bend in the road and saw the sweet log cabin Jeremy Knight had built for his wife tucked back in the trees. The thirty-foot Pioneer trailer he’d sold to Kenzie when he upgraded sat on the raised deck he built to keep it dry if the river rose with floodwaters. He’d placed it so the front windows faced the creek and the rising sun, the bedroom in the back, shaded by the huge trees surrounding the property.

She parked next to the deck, climbed out, and took a deep breath of warm earth and musky river, setting loose the memories that always fluttered through her mind every time she came here.

RVs and trailers were lined up on the other side of the road leading to the boat launch. She was glad Jeremy had set his old trailer away from the others, giving her a little more privacy—which she’d need if ex-boyfriend, Nick Marshall, and his wife showed up.

Her dad, Jeremy’s parents, and the Marshalls had made meeting here with family and friends a summer holiday tradition. The group that used to be a dozen had grown forty plus.

She looked over to where her dad used to park his trailer. The spot still sat empty. Her brother tried to get her to use their dad’s trailer after he passed, but she never could. He’d finally sold it last summer.

She grabbed three grocery bags out of the back seat and climbed the steps to her cute little weekend home. She’d fixed it up a little since Jeremy sold it to her. Stripping the ugly wallpaper, she’d painted the walls barely yellow and the ugly brown cabinets white, brightening up the former bachelor pad.

She’d also re-covered the benches, added colorful curtains, replaced the threadbare carpet with tile, and updated the appliances. Jeremy complained that she made it too girly, but she loved every square inch of her now-bachelorette haven.

A light glowed from the kitchen window, letting her know Jeremy’s wife had been here in case she arrived after dark. She went inside and set the groceries on the table.

When she went back outside, she found Jeremy already unloading her bag and guitar from the trunk.

“What took you so long?”

She went down the steps. “I had a conference call.”

“Country or pop artist?”

“Ned Gray.”

“Ah.” Jeremy gave her a sidelong look. “Moving into the big leagues, talking to producers. You thinking of going solo?”

She rolled her eyes. Jeremy knew better than anyone how she felt about performing. Her first love was writing the songs for others.

Around camp, people were coming out of their trailers, setting up chairs, getting ready to enjoy the evening that was settling over the Tennessee, a river that was wide and deep enough that twenty-five to thirty thousand barges transported goods over its waters every year.

“Nick’s in the Marshalls’ RV putting his daughter to bed.”

Jeremy’s words were like ripping a bandage off a raw wound. So, Nick was already here, and she’d have to endure seeing him with his wife for a whole weekend. Unless she got in her car and drove home right now.

“Don’t even think about it,” Jeremy warned.

“What?”

“I know exactly what’s going through that pretty little head of yours. You can’t let Nick run you off, Kenz.”

The music scene was a close-knit community, but she’d been careful to stay away from the gossips and news. She didn’t want to read that Nick and his wife were expecting another child or see pictures of their Nashville home. She didn’t want to hear that Nick and his family were jetting off to some exotic location.

A door closed, and both she and Jeremy turned to find Nick standing on the bottom step of the Marshalls’ RV staring at them.

About Author Tina Newcomb…

Tina Newcomb writes sweet, contemporary romance. Her heartwarming stories take place in quaint small towns, with quirky townsfolk, and friendships that last a lifetime.

She acquired her love of reading from her librarian mother, who always had a stack of books close at hand, and her father who visited the local bookstore every weekend.

Tina lives in colorful Colorado. When not lost in her writing, she can be found in the garden, traveling with her (amateur) chef husband, or spending time with family and friends.

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