Welcome Misty Matthews!

Please join me in welcoming new Secret Cravings Publishing author Misty Matthews to my blog today! Misty has a hot new release, COMING HOME.

COMING HOME

Home is where the heart is.

Motorcycle riding attorney Alana Stewart is a far cry from the shy teenager who left Chance determined never to look back. Family obligations force her to return to the town that only holds bad memories for her. A stop at her former sanctuary brings an unexpected surprise...the new manager just might be what she needs to get her through the holidays.

When sexy, leather-clad Alana walks into the bookstore, Connor Tate has a feeling he may be in for the ride of his life. Despite the fact that their lives are headed in different directions, they are drawn to one another. Connor is determined to prove to Alana that Chance isn’t the place she remembers, but will his efforts fail when she discovers he hasn’t told her the whole truth about himself?

Can they trust each other enough to take a chance on love?

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EXCERPT:

Gone was the shy, skinny girl in glasses the other kids teased and the town folks ignored. If she had been recognized, no doubt one of the concerned citizens was on the phone right now setting her mother straight. Mom probably wouldn’t be impressed she’d made a familiar stop on the way home, but what else was new?

Alana smiled wryly. Well, they may not have noticed me then, but it looks like they’re seeing me now.

Those on the street craned their necks, and she felt their gazes following her as she sauntered over to Tate’s Bookstore, helmet hanging casually from her hand the way another woman’s purse might. Someone inside the bookstore looked out the front window, probably as curious as the others were, but they quickly pulled back as she approached.

Alana stood on the sidewalk admiring her old hangout, letting the past claim her before pushing the brass handle to open the door. The antique bell tinkled, announcing her arrival just as it had years ago. Memories of the hours spent in this place washed over her. The familiar aroma of old books, a scent she loved, surrounded her. Eagerly, she stepped forward, anxious to see Mr. Tate again. They’d spent hours together discussing her favorite books.

Sadness filled her. Things had changed. No matter what he’d been doing, Mr. Tate had always come at the sound of the bell. Another thought struck her. Perhaps he didn’t own the bookstore anymore. It was common practice for new owners to keep a business’s original name. Goodwill was a marketable commodity these days.

“Hello, is anyone here?” Her voice echoed in the emptiness of the shop.

A touch nervous—the insecurity of the past catching up with her—she moved deeper into the store, and started when a man cleared his throat. Looking in the direction of the sound, she was pleasantly surprised when a stranger stepped out from between two rows of shelves. The man was most definitely not the one she’d expected.

Dressed in jeans that hugged him in all the right places, a white T-shirt, and a gray and black striped sweater vest, he took her breath away. Clean shaven with striking green eyes peering at her from behind large black framed glasses, he was gorgeous.  His look was totally geek-chic and it drew her as no other did. Even though she never acted on the yearning guys like that sometimes evoked in her, she could appreciate a masterpiece when she saw it. His expensive, spicy, tantalizing cologne aroused a sudden desire that pulsed through her.

Usually shy around males, a holdover from her teen years, she stared at him openly. The man was pure eye candy, and she loved candy! From the way he stood, she could tell there was a toned and fit body hidden under his clothes. Finding herself wishing she could see more of it, she felt her cheeks grow hot at the implication of her thoughts.

The man seemed vaguely familiar, and she rattled her brain trying to place him, but try as she might, she couldn’t imagine anyone she knew back then looking like this today. Had she seen this god before, she’d certainly have remembered him.

“Can I help you?” His bold gaze took in every inch of her. The look on his face said he liked what he saw.

“I was looking for Mr. Tate. Is he around?” she asked, amazed her voice sounded normal when her heart was beating so fast he must surely hear it.

“I’m sorry. Dad isn’t here right now. Is there something I can do for you?”

Lots! Her brain screamed as her raging hormones threatened to take over and destroy what little common sense she had left. Peering at him closely, she tried to zone in on the familiarity she’d sensed. Dad? It hit her.

Holy crap! Connor Tate.

He’d changed so much she hadn’t recognized him, which was crazy since she’d had a huge crush on him in high school. While she’d never been the girl who ogled the captain of the football team, she’d liked the smart guy—the one who carried books around and wanted to learn things the way she did. Mesmerized, her eyes searched his face for a sign of recognition. Gone was his acne and hundred-pound weakling scrawny frame. Instead, she stared at perfection. Her brain screamed at her to say something—anything.

“It’s Connor, right?” she asked as if seeing him again wasn’t flooding her with memories, not all of them pleasant. “I’m sorry I missed him. Where is he?”

“My parents are visiting my sister in Florida. They travel a lot these days.”

“That’s wonderful. I’ll bet he’s having a grand time. He always wanted to travel.”

Mr. Tate had spoken about all the places in the world he’d like to visit, and since she’d assumed she’d never get out of Chance, she’d traveled in her books while the shop had kept her friend’s feet firmly planted in Chance.

“You know my father?” His voice was tinged with curiosity and confusion.

“I do.” Alana smiled. “We were really good friends when I was growing up in Chance. This place was like my second home.”

“Alana Stewart?”

Surprised he knew her name, she nodded. “Guilty as charged, your honor.”

“I heard through the rumor mill you were coming home; you’re a lawyer now, right?” Connor looked her up and down again.

“Corporate, specializing in litigation,” she added. “Nothing gets by the small-town gossips, does it?” Her voice was laced with sarcasm, and she was unable to keep her disdain from coming through clearly. She was sure he noticed her tone, but to his credit, he didn’t comment.

“Did you want something? Or did you stop by just to see my father?”

“Well, I did, but I might as well pick up a new novel or two to read while I’m home. I feel naked without a book on the go.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MISTY MATTHEWS

Misty Matthews is a newly formed writing partnership between Susanne Matthews and Misty Cail. These authors have never met and the book was created by grace and virtue of email and Internet chats. It's a true twenty-first century miracle.

Misty and Susanne met in an online Facebook chat group back in December, 2012 and have become fast friends and partners. Misty, the plot genius, had the idea for the book, but found it hard to do the research and polishing necessary for the story. Susanne loved the premise of the story and offered to handle that aspect of it in partnership with her. The name seemed a natural choice. The rest as they say is history.

Never Say Never

Most people who grow up in small towns dream of leaving them for the excitement and glamor of the big city. When she was a teenager, part of Misty Matthews felt the same way. She desperately wanted to leave her hometown, and find love and adventure somewhere else. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with her hometown, and she loved her family, but she craved something more.

She got her chance to escape the confines of her birth place when she moved away from home to go to school. She went to Ottawa, Canada’s national capital, and attended Carleton University. What a wonderful adventure that was. She earned her degree in English and history, but more importantly, she met the love of her life. She and her husband have been married 43 years and have three children and five grandchildren. Their adventure isn’t over yet.

In Coming Home, the first book in the Taking a Chance on Love series, written by Misty Matthews, as a teenager Alana’s hopes and dreams were similar. Growing up in Chance, Arizona, a small town where everyone seemed to know everyone else’s business, and where she felt as if she didn’t fit in, she couldn’t wait to escape from the narrow confines of small town America. Like part of Misty, she left home to go to school in Austin, Texas and was determined to stay there. Now, a high-powered attorney, she’s on the fast track to promotion. Although there isn’t love in her life, she’s proud of the career and lifestyle she’s created for herself. There isn’t anything she’d rather do in her spare time than ride her motorcycle or read a good book, especially on written by J.T. Connor. The last thing she wants to do is go back to Chance, even for a visit, but family obligations have a habit of forcing you to do the things you’d rather not. Never say never!

Connor, like the other part of Misty, on the other hand, never aspired to leave his home town, but he did. He moved to New York City for school, and then to Los Angeles to work for a publishing house. Unlike Alana, he hated the big city and when the opportunity presented himself to move back to Chance, he jumped at it. There’s nothing he likes better than riding his motorcycle into the desert and helping out with the Chance Volunteer Fire Department. His secret career as an author gives him the financial freedom to visit anywhere he likes, but Chance always draws him back. The only thing missing in his life is love.

Time has a habit of changing your perspective. Like Alana, part of Misty swore she’d never return to Cornwall, and then ten years later, she did just that. Small cities have a charm of their own. Although Cornwall is considerably larger than the imaginary town of Chance, it’s located near enough to the big cities around it to provide some excitement. When Alana returns to Chance, some things are the same, but through the lens of time, she realizes that things may not have been exactly the way she remembers them. The other part of Misty grew up in the big city and still dreams of returning home, yet she’s made a good life for herself in a distant part of the country where she too had found love. Sometimes we don’t realize that where we are is exactly where we’re meant to be.

You can follow Misty Matthews and the Taking a Chance on Love series.

To learn more about them, visit: http://www.mhsusannematthews.ca/misty-matthews.php

Like them at: https://www.facebook.com/misty.matthews.733