Hi lovelies! It gives me
great pleasure today to host Sheryl Winters and her new book, “Harper’s Place”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be sure to make it to the end
of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Sheryl
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Harper’s Place
by Sheryl Winters
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GENRE: Romance
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BLURB:
Harper
Grey is fed up with over-bearing men. Her father wants to sell the family
hamburger joint to her brother because a woman could never make it successful.
Harper
knows she has the same flair for business as her mother, and sexy Navy SEAL
Patrick O’Brien dares her to prove it to the world.
When
duty calls and Patrick must leave her side, will Harper be strong enough to
make her dream a reality?
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EXCERPT TWO:
"I'm
scared." I'm standing outside of my favorite coffee shop, waiting for the
barista to call out my coffee order. My cell phone glued to my ear.
“He
should be there any minute right?” Patrick’s warm voice sounds in my ear. He
left earlier than either of us wanted last night. With a morning meeting with
an old Navy buddy, he had no choice. Is it right to miss someone you’re barely
dating?
“Yeah.
What if he says no?”
“Then
you start looking for a business loan, you do something, anything else,”
Patrick replies firmly. “You’ve put in too much prep work just to give it up.”
“You
think I can do this.” I hate the way the quiver in my voice makes me feel weak
as if I were thirteen again and the tree scraping against my bedroom window is
scaring me.
“Harper,
you’re the smartest girl I know. You can do anything. You just have to believe.
Are you going to be okay? I can head over.”
“You
told me last night that you haven’t seen Terry in over five years. You stay
there and meet your friend’s train.”
“You’ll
be just fine. You know that, don’t you?” The confidence in his voice steadies
me.
“One
large skinny mocha and a small oregon chai,” the barista shouts.
“I’ve
got to go. I’ll call you back later.” Clicking on my cell, I drop it into my
pocket. I accept both coffees and head for one of the small tables outside.
“Hey,
just in time.” Tony drops onto the empty seat. The mid-morning sun shines on
his thinning, dark hair.
Thank
God, I take after Mom. If all goes well, I’ll have a full head of hair when I’m
sixty. I slide over his skinny mocha.
“Thanks
for ordering. I hate to wait. I used to drink Breve’s, full of half and a half
and whipped cream, but the Doc yelled at me. Now it’s diet yuck.” He takes a
sip of his coffee and shudders. “Dad says you’re dating Patrick O'Brien. That’s
an impressive choice…for you.”
“I
am dating Patrick that much is true.” I can do this. Tony’s a jerk, but I need
the business loan.
“So
what is this all about? Please tell me it’s not about that damned restaurant
again.”
“I
offered to buy Just Burgers from Dad.”
“Dear
God why!?”
If
I wasn’t so angry, I’d laugh at the look of shock on Tony’s face. “Because I
can make something of it, Tony. Don’t do what Dad does, just hear me out. I’ve
spent a lot of time researching it.”
“Just
Burgers has both feet in the grave, Harper. That restaurant is in a bad
neighborhood. Hell, even the clientele has completely given up on it. It would
take a miracle to pull it out.” Tony rubs his forehead. “Only an idiot would
buy it.” He holds up his left hand with an imperious gesture.
“So
you don’t want to hear what I have to say? How can I change this restaurant
around? You won’t even go with me to talk to Dad?” I drop my purse onto the
table. The folder I so carefully prepared falls out and onto the floor.
“I
don’t care about your research. Harper, you’re just like Mom. You want to do
something so badly, it doesn’t matter if it’s a good idea or not.” Tony chugs
his drink. “Be serious for once. Let this go. I’ve spent the last six months
convincing Dad not to sell it to you. Now it’s your turn to run. Take your
business degree and go settle down with that Navy guy, raise a couple of kids
like mom did.”
My
eyes dart from Tony to the Barista calling out more coffee names. Before I know
it I’m out of my chair and moving backward. “Sorry,” I mutter to the occupant
of the chair behind me, more out of reflex than for any other reason.
Everything is so clear now. Tony spent the last year sabotaging me, and I never
saw it coming. They’ll let Just Burgers die. I always suspected that Dad held
Mom back. Since her death, Just Burgers seemed to go further and further
downhill. How far could it have gone if they had supported her? Picking up my
coffee I take another swig, tears of anger forming behind my eyes.
“You’re
just like Dad. You both know everything, except you’re both so wrong.” My words
rise considerably; heads swivel in our direction. “I’m glad I’m like Mom. She
had her head on straight. Do you want to know something else? Neither you nor
Dad came to my graduation because you couldn’t. You’re both chauvinists. It
will never occur to either of you that you could have helped me, but no, you
know all.” I air quote. “At least, I’m not afraid of failing. You took the
boring route, Tony. Anyone can be an investment counselor. I’m going to do
something with my life. And if I don’t, it won’t be because I didn’t try.”
“Now,
Harper, stop being stupid. Just think about what I did for you. I saved your
life. So go live it. Go get a receptionist job somewhere. Get a job that
doesn’t taint your skin with the scent of burnt meat on a daily basis.” Tony
shudders.
Stunned,
all I can do is stare at him.
“Order
up for Lisa, sugar-free caramel latte.”
“I’ll
get it myself.” A woman a few seats away snaps at her date.
As
if her words were a catalyst, my dream of red walls and Friesen horses appears
as vivid as if I had just painted it. I don’t need Just Burgers. I can start my
own restaurant! The anger I felt for Tony disappears. I can stand here and
argue with him, but that’s what Tony wants. He wants to be the star of his
one-sided play. Life as an investment counselor must really be boring if this
is what he does for attention. Resolve builds inside me until my body feels as
if it’s an oak tree, oozing with strength. I don’t need him; I never needed
him. Tony wants me to fail. The only way to prove him wrong is to do this myself!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
I
never set out to be an author. Only a storyteller. Some days I succeed better
than others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH
SHERYL:
Website:
Blog:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon US Kindle:
Amazon UK:
Barnes and Noble:
Kobo:
Smashwords:
Book Strand:
Roane Publishing:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Sheryl will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC
to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
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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.
Sheryl ~ It is great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)
ReplyDeleteI love your site Ally! So pretty. And thank you so much for having me here!
DeleteCongrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDelete