Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Amalie
Jahn and her new book, “The Next to Last Mistake”! 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 $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Amalie
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
The Next to Last Mistake
by Amalie Jahn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Young Adult,
YA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Tess
Goodwin’s life in rural Iowa is sheltered and uncomplicated. Although she
chooses to spend most of her free time playing chess with her best friend
Zander, the farm-boy from next door, her skills as a bovine midwife and tractor
mechanic ensure that she fits in with the other kids at East Chester High. But
when her veteran father reenlists in the Army, moving her family halfway across
the country to North Carolina, Tess is forced out of her comfort zone into a
world she knows nothing about.
Tess
approaches the move as she would a new game of chess, plotting her course
through the unfamiliar reality of her new life. While heeding Zander’s
long-distance advice for making new friends and strategizing a means to endure
her dad’s imminent deployment to the Middle East, she quickly discovers how
ill-equipped she is to navigate the societal challenges she encounters and
becomes convinced she’ll never fit in with the students at her new school.
When
Leonetta Jackson is assigned as her mentor, she becomes Tess’s unexpected guide
through the winding labyrinth of cultural disparities between them, sparking a
tentative friendship and challenging Tess to confront her reluctant nature. As
the pieces move across the board of her upended life, will Tess find the
acceptance she so desperately desires?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT TWO:
I’m
almost asleep, barely conscious of drifting off, when I’m startled by a noise
outside my window. Before I have a chance to turn on the light and investigate,
the sash slides open and someone steps into my room.
I
hope beyond all hope I’m not dreaming.
“Zander?”
I ask, not wondering if it’s him but why he’s here.
He’s
all the way in the room now, standing at the foot of my bed. “Did I wake you?”
he whispers.
“No,”
I tell him. He blows into his hands, and I lift my blankets, inviting him under
the covers to warm up.
“It’s
colder than a polar bear’s butt out there.” He snuggles against me in my tiny
twin bed like we’re still six-year-olds, camping outside in each other’s
backyards. I wrap my arms around him, and he settles against my shoulder. “You
left your own party.”
“It
wasn’t really my party,” I say. “More New Year’s than anything else.”
“The
cake was good. Red velvet. You would’ve liked it.”
There’s
so much I want to say. Apologies I want to give. Promises I want to make. But
the words are jumbled around in my head, and I’m afraid if I speak everything
will come out all wrong.
“I
didn’t have anyone to kiss at the ball drop,” he says eventually, and I wonder
if whatever was in his Solo cup has gone to his head.
“Tina
and Claire were there.”
He
chuckles grimly and his voice turns serious. “We’ve been together every New
Year’s since we were babies, you know that?” His words settle over me, and I
strain under the weight of them. Heavier still is the burden of what he doesn’t
say: And this might have been our last.
“I’m
sorry,” I say, feeling the need to explain, “but it was so cold and I knew my
dad was gonna need help with the herd and…”
He
rolls over to face me, placing a finger over my lips. “It’s okay, Tess. I get
it. It’s been hard being around each other for the past few weeks. I didn’t
realize the anticipation of you leaving was gonna suck so bad. I didn’t know
how horrible I was at long goodbyes.” Now he’s the one who’s apologizing. “I
guess I didn’t know what else to do. I figured this day might be easier for
both of us…”
“If
you left me before I had the chance to leave you?”
“Something
like that.” He sighs. “It wasn’t intentional. I guess I’ve been sorta messed up
in my own head, thinking about not having you around. You’re the best part of
my days.”
I
blink back tears I don’t realize are already spilling down my cheeks. His
admission is true for me as well—something we’ve always taken for granted.
“It’s
only eighteen months, then we’ll both graduate and head to college together
like we always planned. You and me. It’s not that long, right?”
“It’s
not that long,” he agrees. “But it’ll never be the same, not having you right
next door.”
His
body is relaxed against mine, and I’m reminded of all the nights we spent
together growing up, head to foot and back to back, me teasing him for his
stinky feet and him making fun of my retainer. “Maybe someone better will move
in here,” I laugh between sniffles. “Some Victoria’s Secret supermodel,
schlepping around manure in waders and a thong.”
He
chuckles, too, and I imagine him smiling in the darkness. “As tempting as she
sounds, I still wouldn’t willingly trade you for her.”
There’s
something unspoken in his words, a tiny invitation across a boundary we’ve
never crossed. But I can’t cross it now. I won’t. There’s no reason to take
something painful and make it complicated as well.
“I
should go to sleep,” I tell him. “We’re leaving after the morning milking, and
I gotta be alert enough to drive.”
He
stirs under the covers and his warmth leaves my side. As he stands over me,
silhouetted in the moonlight cascading through my window, I hear him sigh.
Then, he leans down to place a kiss on my forehead like a father tucking in his
child.
“Bye,”
I say.
“Bye.”
“Love
ya.”
“Love
ya back.”
And
then he’s gone, back through the window out into the night. I assume, in the
wake of our farewell, it’s going to take me hours to fall asleep, but the next
thing I know my alarm is going off, and it’s time to slide the chessboard of my
past life on to the shelf and begin another match.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Amalie Jahn is a
USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 8 young adult novels, including The
Next To Last Mistake, her latest release (Light Messages Publishing 2019).
Amalie
is the recipient of the Literary Classics Seal of Approval and the Readers'
Favorite Gold Medal for her debut novel, The Clay Lion. She is a contributing
blogger with the Huffington Post and Southern Writers Magazine, as well as a
TED speaker, human rights advocate, and active promoter of kindness. She lives
in the United States with her husband, two children, and three overfed cats.
When
she's not at the computer coaxing characters into submission, you can find
Amalie swimming laps, cycling, or running on the treadmill, probably training
for her next triathlon. She hates pairing socks and loves avocados. She is also
very happy time travel does not yet exist. Connect with her right here in the
present day at these social media sites listed below.
Visit
amaliejahn.com to join Amalie’s FREE Readers Group and in addition to receiving
promotional discounts, sneak peeks, and monthly newsletters, your membership
will now grant you exclusive access to bonus material (shorts and novelettes)
delivered right to your inbox!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH AMALIE:
Amalie’s Super Cute Kitty, Flint (Above & Below)
PC: IG -
@amalie.jahn.official
Website:
Website:
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Group:
Email:
theclaylion@gmail.com
Facebook:
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LinkedIn:
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Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
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Amalie’s Super Adorable Kitty, Felix
PC: IG -
@amalie.jahn.official
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble
NOOK eBook:
Barnes and Noble
Paperback:
Kobo eBook:
Apple iBooks eBook:
Google Play eBook:
The Book Depository
Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million
Paperback:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Amalie will be awarding a $20 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 is 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.
Amalie ~ Welcome! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :) Also, your kitties are soooo adorable!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!!
Delete-Amalie
Thanks so much for sharing a book description and giveaway also. Sounds great!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, James!
DeleteThank you for hosting a spot on our book tour, Ally Swanson! ~The Light Messages team
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for helping to spread the word about THE NEXT TO LAST MISTAKE! 💛
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and glad you enjoyed the excerpt!
DeleteThanks for the giveaway; I like the excerpt and cover.
ReplyDeleteWhat book would you most compare this book to? Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteLove the kitty and the cover! thanks
ReplyDeleteWho is your favorite author? Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds interesting
ReplyDelete