Arianna Banks never committed to anything, whether a
relationship, a job, or her education. Carrying a damaged reputation because of
an atrocious childhood incident, Arianna’s poor self-image has been her
downfall. When her parents die unexpectedly, awash with grief, she wonders what
her purpose is. She makes several changes, including quitting beauty school to
work at a charity call center. Convinced she is doing important work, Arianna
isn’t prepared when a coworker named Marc Arnold challenges her to achieve her
dreams through her suppressed passion for writing. Coming off a nasty breakup,
Arianna grows closer to Marc, but she tells herself she won’t be at another
guy's mercy. But Marc isn’t ready to give up on her. Now Arianna must choose to
walk away or invite him in. But inviting him into her heart means sharing who
she really is, ugly scars and all. In the midst of navigating her heart,
Arianna excels at her telemarketing job, but does she choose what’s familiar or
dare to pursue her heart’s song, as Marc encourages her?
Arianna is the great-granddaughter of Lorna and
Tristan Blake from the Lorna & Tristan Series.
Purchase Links
UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arianna-Cynthia-Hilston-ebook/dp/B09FN4X5NS/
US - https://www.amazon.com/Arianna-Cynthia-Hilston-ebook/dp/B09FN4X5NS/
Excerpt
Chapter four: Arianna
returns home to Nana after quitting her beauty salon job
When I walked into Nana’s that day, she turned, elbow-deep in flour as she made bread. “You’re home early.”
“I quit.” I took a seat at the table,
placed my interlocked hands on its surface, and stared at my peeling nail
polish.
“You what?”
“I quit my job.”
“Why would you do that?” Nana wiped
her hands on her apron and went to the sink to wash up. After the water turned
off, she grabbed the tea kettle and filled it. I knew what was coming. “We’re
going to talk about this over some tea, Ari.”
“Isn’t it a bit hot for, um, hot
tea?”
“Fine, then. I’ll make iced herbal
tea, but it’s still best to let the water boil on the stove, the tea bag steep,
and then add the ice. None of this instant nonsense.” While the kettle warmed,
Nana joined me. “Now, what’s this about?”
I pointed at my face, half smirking.
“Your choice of decoration?”
I laughed. “Yeah, Jeanine didn’t
approve. She wanted me to remove it, but we got into a bit of a heart-to-heart.
We decided the salon wasn’t the right place for me. I left on good terms.”
“Hmm, seems a bit rash, dear. But
then again, you don’t seem that broken up.”
“I thought I’d be more upset, but to
be honest, I’m free. And if I’m going to be honest with you, Nana, I don’t
think I want to continue with beauty school, either.”
Nana’s eyebrows rose. “Don’t you
think you’re making an awful lot of changes, Ari? I understand if you’re not
happy with the way things are going, but too much change too quickly is, well,
not healthy.”
I laughed humorlessly. “Don’t I know
it? Don’t we both know it? What choice did we have when my parents died, Nana?
None. I wanna make some choices that are gonna have a better impact on my life.
Example — my relationship with Brad was coming apart at the seams for months.”
Nana chuckled. “I never cared for
that boy, but I tolerated him because I thought you liked him. He never stayed
for dinner. A man who doesn’t like my cooking automatically gets a lower grade
in my books.”
I laughed at her spunk. “Oh, Nana.”
The kettle whistled. Nana stood and
took care of making iced tea the right way. We enjoyed her creation and further
conversation. I helped her bake vegan bread, which was something I’d never
done. It was a lot of work, but something was therapeutic about it, the way my
fingers worked through the dough off and on for several hours. By the end of
the afternoon, we had three loaves, one of which we used with dinner.
Author Bio
– Cynthia Hilston is a stay-at-home mom of
three young kids, happily married, and lives in the Cleveland, Ohio, area.
Writing has always been like another child to her. After twenty years of
waltzing in the world of fan fiction, she stepped away to do her debut dance
with original works of fiction, although she still dabbles in fan fiction.
In her spare time –
what spare time? – she devours books, shamelessly watches Hallmark movies and
When Calls the Heart, pets her orange and black kitties, looks at the stars,
drinks wine or coffee with good friends, and dreams of what other stories she
wishes to tell.
Social
Media Links – http://www.cynthiahilston.com
https://www.facebook.com/cynthiahilstonauthor
https://twitter.com/cynthiahilston
https://www.instagram.com/authorcynthiahilston/
http://www.goodreads.com/cynthiahilstonauthor
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.