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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LONG WALK, SHORT PIER
BY LINDA RETTSTATT
Blurb
Blaire Copeland is told she’s going through ‘the change.’ Between hot flashes and mood swings, she tries to figure out what she’s changing into. At fifty-five, she thought she’d slip quietly into menopause. She was so wrong. Her mother tells her it’s her time–time to stop doing and start listening to her inner voice that will guide her through this change. Confused, but trusting her mother, Blaire heads south to Eventide, her family home on Isle of Hope, Georgia, to reflect on what it might mean to change and to take a long walk off a short pier. Where will she land?
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LONG WALK, SHORT PIER
BY LINDA RETTSTATT
When I first started writing, I wrote women’s fiction. But I soon realized that some elements of romance kept creeping into my stories. Then I wrote a contemporary romance and learned why—writing romance is fun. My heroines generally tend to be beyond the traditional contemporary romance age and, as I get older, so do they. I discovered a group of authors who write ‘seasoned’ romance. Now, you might associate the term with hot and spicy, but that’s not necessarily the case. Though some of the more mature heroes and heroines still have a fire blazing in their furnaces. I found that, as a woman of a certain age (and no, I’m not saying what age), I can better relate to seasoned characters, women and men who have been around the block a time or two, generally involved in a second-chance romance. Technically, seasoned romance refers to romance with characters age thirty-five and older. Mine tend to be in the older (forties or fifties) category.
In my newest book, Long Walk, Short Pier, I’ve blended my two writing loves—women’s fiction and seasoned romance. And I had so darned much fun writing this book. Seasoned characters have so much to offer a writer. They’ve lived a little, and they have baggage that they prefer to think of as ‘experience.’ That doesn’t mean they can’t be surprised or that they can’t fall in love again.
Such is the case with Blaire Copeland. At fifty-five, she is told she’s going through ‘the change.’ Between hot flashes and mood swings, she tries to figure out what she’s changing into. Her friends have already made this transition, so Blaire thought she’d slipped quietly into menopause without notice. She was so wrong. She’s divorced and also feeling a pull to step away from her life and examine all these changes. Her father’s favorite phrase had been, ‘Some people should take a long walk off a short pier.’ Blaire now thinks this could apply to her, that she needs to take a long walk—or run—and drop off the end of a metaphorical pier to see where she lands.
Her mother tells her it’s her time—time to stop doing and start listening to her inner voice that will guide her through this change. Confused, but trusting her mother’s wisdom, Blaire heads south to Eventide, her family home on Isle of Hope, Georgia, to reflect on what it might mean to change—and to take a long walk or a flying leap off a short pier. The solitude she anticipates is not to be had. She finds a single mom of two—the caretaker’s fiancée and children—living in the house. She is also reunited with Davis Rembert, the boy she once fantasized about marrying, and the attraction has not died. If she thought the hot flashes were going to consume her, they were barely a spark compared to the heat Davis reignites.
Excerpt
Blaire strolled the bluff overlooking the river. Frogs croaked along the water’s edge. The heavy aroma of earth filled her nose. Lights twinkled on the dock at the marina farther down the bluff. An occasional burst of laughter rolled from one of the porches. She reached the corner and stopped to observe the Rembert house. It was a much larger Victorian that occupied the entire corner. Live oaks and magnolia trees were scattered around the property. A fieldstone walk led to the front porch.
Lights shone from the first floor. She followed the stone walk, but stopped again before climbing the steps to the porch. So many memories flooded back to her. The one that stuck was that of the last time she’d been inside this house. Davis’s mother, Christine, had passed away. Blaire insisted on driving down for the funeral, even though Martin protested. That had been nearly twenty years earlier. She and Martin had left the children with her mother. A part of Blaire had hoped the time away for just the two of them would rekindle a spark, but she’d been wrong.
After the burial service, guests had been invited to return to the house for lunch. Martin hastily ate and interrupted her conversation with Davis to say he was going back to their house, to call if she needed a ride. She told him she didn’t need anything, to go, embarrassed by his behavior.
Later, when she carried plates to the kitchen and began to clean up, Davis came in and stopped her. “That’s why I hired caterers.” He’d asked if she was okay, and she’d burst into tears. He hugged her, she sank into him, and, before either of them knew what was happening, he kissed her. He apologized, she forgave him, and then she slipped out and returned home. She didn’t take his call the next day. They’d not spoken since.
“Are you just going to just stand there, Irish? Or are you coming in?”
His voice startled her. That and the use of the nickname only Davis had for her.
Meet Author Linda Rettstatt…
Linda Rettstatt is an award-winning author who discovered her passion for writing after years of working in the human services field. When she’s not writing, Linda loves travel, penny slot machines, and figuring out what makes people tick. Her fantasy is to win the lottery, buy an old Victorian home on the eastern shore, and open a writer’s retreat. While she waits for that fantasy to materialize (i.e. that miracle to happen), she continues to live and work in NW Mississippi and to write under the constant observation of her tuxedo cat, Binky.
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Links to Linda’s website, blog, books, etc.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2xHS9Bf
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/829658
Website: www.lindarettstatt.com
Blog: www.onewomanswrite.blogspot.com
Facebook: Linda Rettstatt, Writing for Women
Editing service FB page: Linda Edits 4 U
Twitter: @linda_rettstatt
Or at Amazon.com as Linda Rettstatt
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**SPECIAL GIVEAWAY**: Linda will give away an ebook copy of LONG WALK, SHORT PIER to one lucky reader who comments on her Karen’s Killer Book Bench blog.
Thanks, Linda, for sharing your book with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
Looks like another TBR book to add to my list
Thank you, Yvonne.
As a seasoned reader, I appreciate reading romance that is aimed at my age group. I love romantic suspense. Your book sounds amazing!
Thanks, Sharon. I love writing romance with more mature characters.
Good morning, Linda, and welcome back to Karen’s Killer Book Bench. I, too, love to read books about protagonists who are a bit older. Your book sounds great! Thanks for sharing it with us today!
Thanks so much, Karen, for having me here today.
This sounds great. Second chance and mature characters. Really enjoyed the introduction and excerpt.
Thanks Karen and Linda.
Thank you, Kathleen, for stopping by.
It’s nice to see stories about “seasoned” women. Too often we are ignored or are supporting characters.
Can’t wait to read what happens when Blaire steps onto that porch.
Cathy, thanks for stopping by. Yep, though she’s there for a different purpose, the attraction cannot be denied.
Yes, Helen. And I love the term ‘seasoned’ rather than saying older. Seasoning is a good thing, adds flavor. 😀
As an seasoned reader myself, I appreciate reading romance that is aimed at my age group. Need to add to my tbr list. Thanks for joining us and sharing.
Thank you. I do hope you enjoy the story.
Sounds like a great book. Off to go add to my list. Thank you for sharing.
And thank you for stopping by.
Sounds like a great book! I’m looking forward to reading it.
Thank you, Tammy. I hope you enjoy it.
Always love Linda’s books. Great characters & stories that move me!
Thanks, Ellen. You are such a wonderful support, friend.
interesting title
Thank you. I like titles that are metaphorical for some of my books.