Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Debra Coleman Jeter and her new book, “The Ticket”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above.
Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon
or Barnes & Noble Gift Card. Also,
come back daily to interact with Debra and to increase your chances of
winning!
Thanks for stopping by! Wishing
you lots of luck in this exciting giveaway!
The Ticket
by Debra Coleman Jeter
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GENRE: YA Suspense
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BLURB:
The Ticket
She hoped
winning the lottery would solve her problems.
Her problems
have just begun....
It is 1975,
an ordinary year for an ordinary Southern family. TRAY DUNAWAY, like thousands
of other teenagers around the country, longs to be part of the popular set at
school. Tray’s mother, EVELYN, lies in bed most days with a headache, and her
bipolar tendency toward extreme highs or desperate lows veers more and more
often toward depression. Tray’s grandmother GINNY, who lives with the family,
still grieves the loss of her husband, Brook. She believes it’s time for her to
move out, if she could afford to, and find a place of her own, maybe even a new
romance. This doesn’t look likely, given the state of the family’s finances.
Then
something extraordinary happens. A down-and-out friend of the family, PEE WEE
JOHNSON, buys an extra lottery ticket. He gives it to Tray’s dad as a thank-you
for driving Pee Wee to Hazard, Illinois, where he purchased the tickets. And
what do you know?
When Johnson
demands his cut, Tray’s dad refuses. As Evelyn’s illness spirals toward
madness, Johnson turns threatening, and Tray makes some poor decisions, what
initially seems like a stroke of good fortune suddenly triggers a disturbing
chain of events.
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EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT:
I just
want to give the police my story and be done with it. But the officer insists I
come to the station to make an “official statement,” whatever that is. This
gives me ample opportunity to repent, to take back the words I’d forced out of
my lying mouth. To admit the truth.
I squeeze
my eyes shut and ask the question I’ve been dreading. “Um … can you tell me …
will I need one of my parents there with me?”
There’s
silence on the other end of the line. Now I’m wishing I hadn’t asked. Now I’m
thinking the question makes me sound guilty. Which, of course, I am. I open my
eyes slowly in wait.
“How old
are you?” the voice asks.
“Fourteen.”
“And
you’re just coming in to tell us what you saw?”
My
stomach twists in knots. “Yes, sir.”
“No. We
don’t need your parents here. If you were a suspect, it’d be a different
story.”
I breathe
out. “No. Not me. I’m not a suspect.” Shut up, Tray. Shut. Up.
“Can you
get here on your own?”
Brother.
“No. There’s no way I can get down there.” A way out? Maybe.
“No
problem. We’ll send a car to come get you.”
Maybe
not.
Oh, Gram,
what should I do?
I can
hear Gram’s answer as clearly as if she were here. “Pray about it,” Gram says.
Oh, God,
should I tell the truth? Is telling the truth an “always” rule, or are there
exceptions? There have to be sometimes. And is this one of those times?
I wait
for God’s answer while I’m waiting for the police car. It’s a small miracle I
have managed to make this call and wait this long without being busted by Lori
or Julia. Perhaps that in itself is God’s answer.
I have
left a brief note for them. Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon. Then I think better
of the words “don’t worry.” Isn’t that a clear invitation to worry? I wad up
the paper, throw it in the trash, and rewrite the note. Be back soon. Tray.
The car
comes, and I hop inside, heart hammering, palms sweating. I hope no one is
watching through the window, or from the neighbors’ houses, as the
conspicuous-looking car pulls out of the driveway and down the street. No one
except the dog who has become my friend and ally.
The two
officers—both men, one tall, blond, and thin, the other balding and squatty—and
I drive through town without a word between us. In the front seat, the police
radio squawks a lot. I think it’s kind of cool listening to the calls going
back and forth. The 10-codes, I think they’re called.
Once we
arrive at the police department, the officers take me to an office past the
main rooms filled with gray desks, square telephones, and stacks of files. The
whole place smells of cigars and cold metal. We stop long enough for the
officers to grab legal pads and paper.
“Follow
us,” the tall one says, without even looking my way.
Sure, I’m
invisible. I’m your star witness, but I’m invisible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
The Ticket is Debra Coleman
Jeter’s first novel. It was a finalist for a Selah Award in two categories:
Young Adult Fiction and First Novel. A Vanderbilt University professor, Debra
Coleman Jeter has published fiction and nonfiction in popular magazines,
including Working Woman, New Woman, Self, Home Life, Savvy, Christian Woman,
and American Baby. Her story, “Recovery,” won first prize in a Christian Woman
short story competition, and her nonfiction book “Pshaw, It’s Me Grandson”:
Tales of a Young Actor was a finalist in the 2007 USA Book News Awards. She is
a co-writer of the screenplay for Jess + Moss, a feature film which premiered
in 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival, screened at nearly forty film festivals
around the world, and captured several international awards. She lives in
Clarksville, Tennessee, with her husband.
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CONNECT WITH
DEBRA:
Website/Blog:
Pinterest:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Amazon Author
Page:
Goodreads:
Trailer:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
YOUTUBE
VIDEO:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AMAZON BUY
LINK:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Debra will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just
helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and
Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not
Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are
solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Thanks, Ally, for hosting an excerpt from The Ticket on your website today. Also, my thanks to everyone who reads, comments, or poses questions. I'm in a different time zone this week, so I'm probably sleeping as you read this and there may be a delay before I can comment back. Please know I really appreciate every comment I get!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting and don'the forget to view the trailer.
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteLove this book!!
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Deletegreat excerpt, I can't wait to read this. thanks for sharing it with us and for the giveaway too.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you liked my excerpt. I can't wait to hear your reaction to The Ticket. Don't forget to view the trailer.
DeleteThanks for sharing the excerpt!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. Don't forget to view the book trailer.
DeleteFor Christmas stocking stuffers, it is on 99c during the tour.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds interesting, thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. Don't forget to view the trailer.
ReplyDelete