Shannon here: Jennifer Slattery shares an emotional excerpt from her latest Women’s Fiction, Intertwined. Comment or answer the question at the end of any post dated Oct 19 – 23 to enter the drawing for a copy. Deadline: Oct 31st, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Jennifer:
Brody always berated [Tammy] for drinking coffee late at night. Why he cared, she never understood.
Obviously, he hadn’t, otherwise he wouldn’t have been sleeping around.
Swallowing a familiar surge of bitterness, she closed her gritty eyes and rubbed her face. After three years, it shouldn’t bother her anymore. But it did, no matter how hard she fought against it.
Forcing her muscles to uncoil, she approached the drink station. She purchased a tall mocha and breathed in the soothing steam.
She sat near the doorway, wrapped both hands around her cup. Lord, don’t let my anger get in the way of Your love flowing through me. Help me to be sensitive to the needs and pain all around me.
Chair legs screeched on the linoleum, and she glanced up. A familiar pair of blue eyes stared back at her.
The air left her lungs as she tried to make sense of the image of the man standing a few tables away.
“Nick?” She stood.
Gray speckled his black hair, and faint lines fanned from his eyes. His features had hardened, giving him a strong, rugged look. “Tammy.” He stared at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable.
“You here for someone?”
“My son.” His voice cracked, and he looked away, staring past her for a few seconds before making eye contact once again. “You work here?” He glanced at the name badge attached to her belt. “Organ Procurement Coordinator?”
She nodded, studied his face. “You want to talk?”
His eyes flooded with tears, and he shook his head. “I better get back. My son needs me.”
He turned to leave, but she touched his arm. “Wait. Can I call you? To see how you’re doing? How he’s doing?”
After a long moment, he offered a slow nod and fished his wallet from his back pocket. He dug out a business card and handed it over. The Flaming Mesquite was printed across the top in maroon letters.
His granddad’s old place? Was Nick the owner now?
She rummaged through her tote bag and pulled out a business card. “Here’s my number. Call me. If you need anything.”
He studied it, a tendon in his jaw twitching, before tucking it into his back pocket. “Thank you.”
Then he walked away, just like he had twenty years ago.
About Jennifer: Jennifer Slattery writes soul-stirring fiction for New Hope Publishers, a publishing house passionate about bringing God’s healing grace and truth to the hopeless. She also writes for Crosswalk.com, Internet Café Devotions, and the group blog, Faith-filled Friends. When not writing, Jennifer loves going on mall dates with her adult daughter and coffee dates with her hilariously fun husband. Learn more and connect: JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com and http://www.facebook.com/JenSlatte
About the book – Intertwined:
Abandoned by her husband for another woman, Tammy Kuhn, an organ procurement coordinator often finds herself in tense and bitter moments. After an altercation with a doctor, she is fighting to keep her job and her sanity when one late night she encounters her old flame Nick. She walks right into his moment of facing an unthinkable tragedy. Because they both have learned to find eternal purposes in every event and encounter, it doesn’t take long to discover that their lives are intertwined but the ICU is no place for romance….or is it? Could this be where life begins again?
Intertwined, part of New Hope Publisher’s contemporary fiction line, is a great reminder of how God can turn our greatest tragedies and failures into beautiful acts of love and grace. Readers will fall in love with the realistic characters and enjoy the combination of depth, heart-felt emotion and humor that makes Jennifer’s novels so appealing. Readers will be inspired to find God in every moment and encounter in their own lives!
Our first meeting – Denver 2009
Endorsement by Shannon Taylor Vannatter: Jennifer Slattery scored again with this one. A horrific accident intertwines two lives. Her characters are so authentic, their struggles with life and faith so genuine, her stories so gritty and real. I think about her fictional people long after I turn the last page. (Not just because we’re friends. Because it’s good. I have lots of friends I haven’t endorsed.)
Can’t wait for the drawing: Buy it: ChristianBook Amazon BarnesandNoble
Question for Readers: What’s your favorite coffee or tea flavor? Cold or hot?
Come back Oct 26th for Vannetta Chapman!
I love my sweet tea cold and love Lemon Zinger as my hot tea
Lemon Zinger sounds good! I like hot drinks; I find them so soothing, even on hot days. I’m out of hot tea right now. Boo! Normally I have a fairly diverse stash of various flavors. I prefer fruity, like orange zest, etc.
I am so basic when it comes to coffee – Just the plain Folgers coffee for me!
Each morning my husband makes me a pot of Barry’s Gold Irish tea….it’s the best! Plus, it’s nice to be spoiled by my hubby!
I love both hot and cold tea, it actually depends on my mood. I love green tea the best.
Your book Intertwined sounds really beautiful. It shows a dependancy to God. The emotion shines through from the excerpt.
Great book, Jennifer 🙂
I drink hot tea every morning, I am a big fan of green and white tea.
I drink black coffee so really any flavor will do. Unsweetened tea with lots of ice is great too!
I gave up drinking coffee regularly in January but back when I drank it frequently, I drank Rain Forrest Nut by Green Mountain. It was my favorite. It kind of tasted like s’mores. My next favorite is what I still drink. Constant Comment tea with a spoon of turbinato sugar. Oh yum!
Fresh hot coffee from the French press every morning – Starbucks Pike place is a good start!
Favorite coffee: Hazlenut Mocha Frappacino. Favorite tea: Iced, sweet orange pekoe and I like the sugar stirred in and dissolved when it’s hot. Not as an afterthought when it’s cold and won’t dissolve.
I have a winner! Kelly Blackwell won the drawing. I appreciate Jennifer for being my guest and everyone else for stopping by.