Ruby blinks back tears and gazes across the violet-studded moors from the doorstep of Heather House before she turns and lifts the key. What heart-wrenching secret will she discover in her childhood home?
When Ruby inherits her family’s crumbling old house in the wild English countryside, she is devastated to think it might be sold. Heather House was once an artists’ haven filled with Ruby’s family and their colorful friends. Ruby has always been captivated by the glamorous Clara, a famous pilot whose love story came to a tragic end. Now black-and-white photographs transport her back to World War Two…
With the future of Heather House uncertain, Ruby loses herself in history. But it seems romance is not only a thing of the past when Jake, a jumper-clad American author with silver-flecked hair turns up at her door. Jake is investigating a wartime mystery about Clara, and he soon falls in love with the historic home. But when Clara shows him a view of the moors ablaze under the setting sun, his dark green eyes cause another flame to spark …
Together Ruby and Jake begin to unravel the secret hidden in the past. But can they find a way to save Heather House, or will Ruby be forced to sell it before the truth about Clara is at last unearthed and her new love has a chance to bloom?
MEMORIES OF HEATHER HOUSE (Wildflower Secrets Book #2) by Rebecca Alexander is an emotional dual timeline women’s fiction story featuring generations of strong, independent woman. While this is the second book in this series, the books are connected by their small village location on the moors in the English countryside with minimal character crossover so they each easily stand alone.
Ruby is a genealogist and historian who has inherited the run-down countryside mansion of her childhood when her mother dies of cancer. For many years she just wanted to get away, but now it is her only connection to her matriarchal line of artistically talented women. Once an artists’ haven filled with bohemian characters, now only two of the elderly occupants remain.
With the future of the mansion uncertain, Ruby is also dealing with a handsome American who is researching her family’s famous WWII female ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary) pilot for an American who believes she is also related to the mysterious Clara. As the two work together to dig up Clara’s secrets and try to come up with a solution to save Ruby’s home, they discover not only secrets from the past, but possibly a new love in the present.
This is a wonderful dual timeline story featuring Ruby in the present and Clara during WWII. While Ruby’s story is interesting with its search for Clara and her growing interest in Jake at times, I was frustrated with her always fluctuating in her beliefs that Jake had ulterior motives. It got to be a bit too often and should not have lasted as long as it did in the plotline because it felt repetitive. I was really pulled into the story when it switched to Clara’s WWII story. The WWII research is skillfully slipped into the story without feeling like a data dump. Clara is an amazing and compelling character that lived life to the fullest even in the middle of a terrible war and the tragic ending of her life, which is not a spoiler, was still so sad.
I highly recommend this dual timeline second book in the Wildflower Secrets series and I am anxiously looking forward to the next.
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About the Author
Rebecca Alexander was born in Malta and grew up on the south coast of England, becoming a psychologist. She escaped parenting six children to study writing in 2011, and the Secrets series of novels was published in 2013. A Baby’s Bones and sequel followed. Rebecca lives in a haunted 300-year-old cottage in Devon where she grows fruit, paints, and bakes. She reads and writes all sorts of genres, from women’s fiction to fantasy to crime. She is married with four chickens, two grandchildren and a cat.
A story of intrigue, romance, murder, and artificial intelligence…
She was almost out, her life of enforced seclusion nearly over. She’d go to college at MITI, make a name for herself in Machine Intelligence (MI), and develop personal MIs to solve the world’s problems by building on the technology her grandfather had secretly invented.
But the house was on fire when Paloma arrived home. Her grandfather, beaten and tortured, lay dead on the floor. Someone knew about Marlowe, Paloma’s MI, and would clearly kill to acquire it. They’d come for her next. They’d come for Marlowe.
Paloma has no choice but to run, at least until she can figure out who is after them. A tech corporation? The government? Anti-tech terrorists? As she encounters each, her grandfather’s arguments about the dangers of a Marlowe-like MI in the wrong hands begin to make sense. But after 15 years together, Marlowe has become both her best friend and, for better or worse, part of who she is.
A new take on classic noir themes, Private I is a mystery thriller rooted in today’s headlines and driven by characters with distinct answers to the questions those articles ask: what do we mean by machine consciousness? Would we recognize it if we saw it? Would we want it if we could have it? It is the story of a dead body, a society in decay, and the internal monologue of a voice that is still young enough to care and naive enough to stumble. Of course, in our case, that internal monologue has two voices.
PRIVATE I by Ashlei E. Watson, Jill Fain Lehman & Paul Pangaro is a futuristic sci-fi thriller and murder mystery with a bit of romance featuring a young woman on the run after the murder of her grandfather, but that is the simplistic overview. It also involves many philosophical questions tied to an advanced Machine Intelligence (MI) named Marlowe that her grandfather invented and gave to her as a friend and guide at a young age when she came to live with him.
Ready to leave the rules and strictures of her grandfather’s home, Paloma has graduated and is hoping to attend MIT in the next session. When she comes home after visiting the college, she finds her grandfather murdered and their home on fire. Paloma’s MI, Marlowe, has instructions for an occurrence like this, but Paloma would rather be on the run with Marlowe than destroy her friend of fifteen years. As she tries to figure out who wants the technology enough to kill, Paloma seeks help from some of her grandfather’s friends, but even they seem to have ulterior motives. She does not know who to trust.
Paloma is an interesting protagonist. She is young and seems to have led a sheltered life with Marlowe, but she is also tough and intelligent enough to weave her way through the treachery and lies of the people supposedly trying to help. The dialogue between Paloma and Marlowe was at times entertaining, but it also did a great job of demonstrating Paloma’s complex relationship with a machine that sometimes left her feeling as if she was losing her individual human self. There is some technological discussion and a lot of acronyms that at times I did not understand, but you can skip or not understand the jargon and the main plotline will still pull you in and keep you turning the pages. There is a good mix of action and amateur investigation along with philosophical discussions of humans relying on personal machine intelligence that kept me pondering even after the resolution of the book. The ending was not what I was expecting, but it still satisfied.
I recommend this mash-up sci-fi thriller. It was different for me, and I enjoyed it.
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About the Author
Ashlei E. Watson (born July 7, 1975) is an American novelist. Her books include the cyber noir series Private I, co-written with Jill Fain Lehman, PhD and Paul Pangaro, PhD.
About the Author
Career in academic and industrial research in Artificial Intelligence, predominantly natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML) and cognitive architecture. Full info at https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~jef/.
About the Author
Career as entrepreneur, teacher, researcher, and performer. Introduced to Cybernetics at MIT with Jerry Lettvin then Gordon Pask, with whom Paul did a PhD and worked with for more than a decade. Involved in a series of startups, often as founder and CTO, culminating with General Cybernetics, Inc., in New York City. Entered academia from 2015, currently at Carnegie Mellon University. Videos on Cybernetics at https://vimeo.com/showcase/9172955. Personal website and blog at http://pangaro.com/
Leona Griffin is at the height of her career as a para-archeologist thanks to a recent Underworld discovery. Her high profile attracts the attention of an organization of elite, secretive collectors. They want her to authenticate the artifacts that aspiring members submit as evidence to join their group. The ceremony takes place at a glittering reception where Leona is shocked to discover that one of the relics is a powerful Old-World object known as Pandora’s Box. But she’s not the only one interested in that artifact.
Oliver Rancourt, a man with a unique talent—they say you never see him coming—is also there. Leona knows she must not underestimate him. Attempting to make a discreet exit, she stumbles over the body of a waiter wearing the emblem of a dangerous cult. Before she can alert authorities, a police raid sends the reception into chaos. To avoid being arrested, Leona slips away with Oliver—a risky decision that gets her fired.
Now forced to work together, Leona and Oliver pursue an investigation that leads them to the town of Lost Creek where the locals are obsessed with a chilling legend involving a long-dead cult leader and illicit paranormal experiments. But Leona knows the real danger may be the irresistible attraction between herself and Oliver.
IT TAKES A PSYCHIC (Ghost Hunter Book #17) by Jayne Castle is another exciting and fun addition to the Ghost Hunter series. All these books can be read as standalone paranormal romances, but this one does tie back to People in Glass Houses, Book #16 with the heroines of both stories being sisters.
Para-archeologist Leona Griffin is still riding the wave of her celebrity from her recent discoveries in the Underworld when she is asked to authenticate items at a meeting for membership in a secretive organization. From the moment she arrives, she has a bad feeling about this group, especially when the final object for her to authenticate is the infamous Old World object Pandora’s Box.
Oliver Rancourt is also at the meeting and has an interest in Pandora’s Box. While the other attendees all seem to ignore him, Leona not only sees him, but feels he is watching her. And she is right. Oliver has a unique ability to blend in and seem to disappear, which is perfect for retrieving his stolen property, but Leona’s ability to see him has intrigued him.
When Leona tries to make a discrete exit, she discovers a dead server wearing the symbol of a dangerous cult around her neck. Before she can alert anyone, a police raid occurs. Oliver shows up at her side and rather than be arrested, they slip away. Oliver has Pandora’s Box, which he tells Leona was stolen from him and when they open it, it has, in addition to its original contents, a strange golden pyramid inside.
Leona and Oliver work together to uncover secrets about the long dead cult leader and the illegal paranormal experiments. The attraction grows between the two, but they are both hiding secrets about their psychic profiles. The answer to questions about Leona and her sister’s past may be within reach, but can Oliver and Leona stay alive to find them.
I wait anxiously for each new installment in this long running series. Not only for a fun, intriguing new pair of romantic protagonists, but also for the new dustbunny. Roxy and her blue fascinator did not disappoint. There was a good amount of heat and chemistry between Leona and Oliver that grew believably over the course of the story, and even though there is sexual intercourse, it is a smaller part of this story than in other books in this series. These books are always a great mash-up of paranormal romance, mystery, and adventure in Harmony.
I highly recommend this addition to the series and would recommend the entire series to anyone. Long live dustbunnies!
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About the Author
Jayne Castle, the author of Guild Boss, Illusion Town, Siren’s Call, The Hot Zone, Deception Cove, The Lost Night, Canyons of Night, Midnight Crystal, Obsidian Prey, Dark Light, Silver Master, Ghost Hunter, After Glow, and After Dark, is a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, the author of more than fifty New York Times bestsellers. She writes contemporary romantic suspense novels under the Krentz name, as well as historical novels under the pseudonym Amanda Quick.
In June 1917, General John Pershing arrived in France to establish American forces in Europe. He immediately found himself unable to communicate with troops in the field. Pershing needed telephone operators who could swiftly and accurately connect multiple calls, speak fluent French and English, remain steady under fire, and be utterly discreet, since the calls often conveyed classified information.
At the time, nearly all well-trained American telephone operators were women—but women were not permitted to enlist, or even to vote in most states. Nevertheless, the U.S. Army Signal Corps promptly began recruiting them.
More than 7,600 women responded, including Grace Banker of New Jersey, a switchboard instructor with AT&T and an alumna of Barnard College; Marie Miossec, a Frenchwoman and aspiring opera singer; and Valerie DeSmedt, a twenty-year-old Pacific Telephone operator from Los Angeles, determined to strike a blow for her native Belgium.
They were among the first women sworn into the U.S. Army under the Articles of War. The male soldiers they had replaced had needed one minute to connect each call. The switchboard soldiers could do it in ten seconds.
Deployed throughout France, including near the front lines, the operators endured hardships and risked death or injury from gunfire, bombardments, and the Spanish Flu. Not all of them would survive.
The women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps served with honor and played an essential role in achieving the Allied victory. Their story has never been the focus of a novel…until now.
SWITCHBOARD SOLDIERS by Jennifer Chiaverini is an engaging and informative historical fiction novel featuring the first young women ever to be able to enlist in the US Army’s Signal Corps and serve overseas as switchboard operators during WWI. The story follows three main protagonists from different parts of the country with varying immigrant family stories as they serve in the great war overseas.
As General John Pershing arrives in France to oversee American forces to fight alongside the French and British forces in the “war to end all wars” against the Axis forces, he realizes he needs professional female operators fluent in both French and English to be able to communicate all over the fields of operation. AT&T operators answered the call to serve from all over the country.
Grace Banker is an AT&T switchboard instructor in New Jersey and an alumnus of Barnard College, Marie Miossec is in Cincinnati with her French parents who are professional musicians working in the states, and Valerie DeSmedt an operator in Los Angeles whose family has immigrated from Belgium, are all accepted after an arduous vetting. Deployed to France, they cross the dangerous waters of the Atlantic facing dangerous German U-boats, the bombardments of the enemy forces throughout France as they are assigned to work closely to the frontlines, the danger of mustard gas and the Spanish flu.
These women served throughout France with honor and valor and were essential to the success of the Allied forces.
I had no idea that these American women switchboard operators were involved in the war effort during WWI. You hear about nurses and the YWCA volunteers, but not this group. I was so impressed by the magnitude of research throughout this novel. The author’s descriptions brought me right into the action. This story does jump around a bit as you follow the different paths and experiences the three main characters follow so occasionally, I felt it was a little disjointed, but in a way, it needed to be, so it fit in with the different journey of each. Just like so many other historical women’s stories in history, these brave young women were not recognized as true soldiers of the Army and received no VA benefits or legal recognition until 1977.
I highly recommend this story of amazing women answering the call to service.
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About the Author
Jennifer Chiaverini is the New York Times bestselling author of FATES AND TRAITORS, MRS. LINCOLN’S DRESSMAKER, MRS. LINCOLN’S RIVAL, THE SPYMISTRESS, MRS. GRANT AND MADAME JULE, and other acclaimed historical novels. She also wrote the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series, as well as six collections of quilt patterns inspired by her books. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, she lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin. About her historical fiction, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, “In addition to simply being fascinating stories, these novels go a long way in capturing the texture of life for women, rich and poor, black and white, in those perilous years.”
Taking over her late father’s company was never part of Alex Stone’s life plan.
But now, sitting in the CEO chair at Stone Enterprises, she’s resigned to living her life alone. Being a high-powered, billionaire woman tends to narrow one’s romantic prospects. As Alex works relentlessly to reshape her inherited hotel empire, she’s acquired a target on her back complete with death threats.
Alex turns to Hawk Bronson, a man who is equal parts bodyguard, sexy, and completely infuriating. Especially when it comes to protecting her.
As the danger escalates, Hawk comes to terms with the fact that their connection goes way beyond bodyguard and assignment. He knows he should keep his distance—his own dark past and nightmares put her at greater risk—but he can’t walk away. Protecting Alex means everything. Putting her life in someone else’s care isn’t an option once he’s tasted their passion and depth of his feelings.
As they navigate a minefield of family secrets, past pain, and unexpected hope, Alex and Hawk must face their deepest fears and fight for a future together. But first, they’ll need to unmask whoever is behind the threats—before Alex becomes their next victim.
NO MORE YESTERDAYS (The Heirs Book #3) by Catherine Bybee is a wonderful finale to The Heirs trilogy with this story featuring Alexandrea “Alex” Stone. These books can be read as standalone contemporary romances, but the overall story ARC of the siblings inheriting their father’s company and the problems it involves makes me feel the trilogy is best read in order.
With the death of their father, the Stone siblings have had to adapt to new lives with massive wealth. Alex has taken over as CEO at Stone Enterprises with her experience in the hotel business. Taking on the role has also left her feeling she is now limited in her romantic prospects. When Alex receives a death threat, she asks for the help of a security specialist who helped her out previously. He takes on the role of her private bodyguard.
Hawk Bronson is a security specialist who is determined to protect the independent and infuriating Alex. As the danger escalates, so does the personal heat between them.
As they try to discover where the threat against Alex is coming from, they uncover corporate secrets that are far from legal and could put Stone Enterprises at risk. Is this the source of the threat or is there another reason that Alex is in danger from someone close who wants her dead?
This is such an extremely emotionally satisfying ending to The Heirs contemporary romance trilogy! The romance has fun dialogue as Alex and Hawk butt heads, but it also gets serious with Hawk describing the threat and serious circumstances when Alex does not listen. The sexual chemistry builds believably, and the sex scenes are not gratuitous, but feel natural. The suspense subplot had me turning the pages and continually built to a surprise climax I did not see coming.
I highly recommend this book and the entire trilogy! Ms. Bybee always satisfies, and I look forward to every new book.
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About the Author
Catherine is a #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and Indie Reader bestselling author. In addition, her books have also graced The New York Times and USA Today bestsellers lists. In total she has written thirty-six beloved books that have collectively sold more than 10 million copies and have been translated into more than twenty languages.
Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full time and has penned the Not Quite series, The Weekday Brides series, the Most Likely To series, and the First Wives series. Learn more about Catherine and her books at www.catherinebybee.com
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE SIDE PROJECT by Laurel Osterkamp on this Book Amplifier Tour.
Below you will find an author Q&A, introduction and synopsis, my book review, an excerpt from the book, and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Author Q&A
Writing Process & Creativity
How did you research your book?
There wasn’t a huge amount of research involved, but I did need to read up on the type of brain tumors teenagers are most likely to get. I’d already spent a lot of time in Bemidji, but I convinced my family that I should take a road trip up to Bemidji on my own, just for the night, so I could walk around taking pictures and imagining my characters’ lives there.
What’s the hardest scene or character you wrote—and why?
The last scene between Rylee and her mother, Summer, was difficult to write because finally, they were being honest with each other and dealing with their grief. It was a challenge to find the right level of emotion and to give each of them their own unique voice.
What’s your favorite compliment you’ve received as a writer?
That’s so hard, because I often forget the compliments I receive, unlike the criticism, which is always tattooed on my brain. But last night I received this message from a huge BookTok influencer, after she finished reading The Side Project: “I just finished! Man, I’m crying happy tears. This was so different… and it was SO good.” I can’t overstate how happy that compliment made me!
Your Writing Life
Do you write every day? What’s your schedule?
Sometimes, if there’s a lot of laundry or grocery shopping to do, I skip writing on Sundays. Otherwise, I write every day, in the afternoon and/or early evening.
Any quirky writing rituals or must-have snacks?
My favorite writing quirk is when my cat, Toffee, snuggles up next to me while I sit on the couch with my laptop. When I get stuck, I’ll pet her and ask for her advice. She always has great ideas!
Behind the Book
Why did you choose this setting/topic?
I’ve always felt that northern settings where they wear a lot of flannel are romantic. When I began writing The Side Project, I’d just finished an MFA program in Creative Writing. I liked the idea of exploring how writers can be sort of snobby toward each other when it comes to writing genre fiction, especially romance. And there’s definitely a stigma when it comes to self-publishing. The Side Project is not self-published, but Rylee is a secret self-published romance author and afraid to let the people in her life know this. So The Side Project is a combination of several topics and settings that are close to my heart.
If your book became a movie, who would star in it?
Winona Ryder (at 23) as Rylee
Andrew Garfield (at 27) as Carson
Jessica Chastain (at 27) as Dana
James Van Der Beek (at 27) as Jack
Which author(s) most inspired you?
This answer is specific to romance writing, but Emily Henry and Carley Fortune inspired me in a huge way. After reading their novels, I was ready to transition from writing women’s fiction to
contemporary romance. I love how they use the expected romance tropes that readers love, but they also write layered stories with complex characters and lyrical prose.
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Introductionand Synopsis
Some stories are never really over. Laurel Osterkamp’s The Side Project explores what happens when unfinished business from the past collides with the emotional messiness of the present—through the lens of two former lovers forced to collaborate creatively.
Ten years after their breakup, Rylee and Carson are thrown back into each other’s orbit—not by chance, but by enrollment in the same graduate fiction workshop. Rylee is still rooted in their hometown, juggling caretaking duties and trying to hold onto the memory of her late father, a novelist who left behind an incomplete manuscript. Carson, now a single dad, is determined to keep things tidy and focused. But when their class assignment turns into a writing partnership—and then a secret “side project”—long-buried feelings begin to surface. Their story becomes as tangled as the fiction they’re writing, and soon they’re forced to ask: is it possible to rewrite a past that never got its ending?
THE SIDE PROJECT by Laurel Osterkamp is a contemporary romance/rom-com that brings realistic characters to the page with all their imperfections and puts them through an emotional upheaval of twists, secrets, and lies interspersed with heartwarming moments of friendship and familial love. This new-to-me author kept me turning the pages.
Rylee dreams of writing a literary novel that her late father would have loved, but her secret is that she loves and writes Regency romances in secret. She was prepared to move to California, but her younger brother is diagnosed with cancer, and she stays to help her mother and brother in her small hometown of Bemidji, MN.
Carson’s plans to attend Harvard and become a doctor came to an end when his girlfriend told him she was pregnant. He has stayed in Bemidji and married, discovered he loves his son and being a father, but he dreams of more.
Rylee is surprised when she attends her first MFA course and Carson is in the classroom. They become writing partners even with Rylee and Carson’s unresolved high school past and start a no-strings fling side project. As their chemistry heats up, so do the complications. Secrets, lies, and hard truths will all come out and difficult decisions must be made.
Rylee and Carson have both lived through life-altering loss and disappointments and when they come together there are still so many secrets and lies between them which become exposed throughout the story and as each one drops, it causes emotional upheaval. I felt the characters in this story were fully developed and the story flowed well and was entertaining as a character driven romance. There are a few sex scenes, but they were not gratuitous, but believable to the story. This novel stretches a few romance genre rules but brings relatable characters to life and still delivers a romance lovers ending.
I recommend this mash-up for a heartwarming weekend read and am looking forward to checking other works by this author.
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Excerpt
I steel myself and step out of my car, determined to keep things businesslike today. The sight of Carson outside raking leaves, ruggedly adorable with Ferris running circles around his feet, does nothing to break my resolve. I tell myself: You’re here to work. Nothing more, nothing less.
“Hey, Rylee.” He grins, pushing up his sleeves. “You’re right in time to hold the leaf bag.”
I don’t have time to respond before a happy splash of black fur races past us, yipping and barking. I laugh, and Carson shakes his head, smiling as well.
“Ferris loves chasing leaves,” Carson says.
Ferris circles us. Running in the autumn wind, his mouth is full of fluttering colors and twigs.
I contemplate Carson’s leaf bag. “The hardest part is always getting in the first few handfuls of leaves. Did you know they have these cardboard insert thingies that keep the bag open?”
Carson holds his rake with one hand. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. My dad was excited when he discovered them at the hardware store. It used to be our thing, my dad and I, bagging leaves together.”
“Oh.” Carson’s mouth goes slack, and his eyes pool with sympathy. It’s like he backed over a bunny rabbit by accident. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up old memories.”
I wave off the awkwardness as if I’m shooing away bugs. “No worries. It won’t break me to hold the bag open, and I’ll even push down the leaves as you put them in.” My words come out in a rush. “Where should I put my computer?”
“I’ll put it inside. Do you also want me to take your purse?”
“Sure, thanks.” I hand him both.
He takes them through his front door as a gust of wind threatens to upend Carson’s carefully constructed leaf pile. I snatch up the rake, ready for battle. “You won’t escape me, bitches!” I yell at the flying leaves.
I look over to see Carson on his front stoop, watching my wild efforts like I’m a vaudeville spectacle he can’t quite believe. Embarrassed, I kick at the ground. “I didn’t want all your hard work ruined.”
His expression is serious. “Have you tried positive reinforcement? I’ve found that fallen leaves don’t respond well to punitive measures.”
“Right,” I reply, “because they have nothing to lose. Their fate is inside a garbage bag or being trapped by an uncaring tire. Snow will cover the lucky ones until after the thaw.” I run the rake through the grass at my feet. “Then they’ll get scooped up—along with all the dog poop and candy wrappers the trick-or-treaters leave behind.”
Using his index finger to rub his chin, Carson considers this. “Trick-or-treaters leave behind dog poop?”
“Some of the angry ones do.”
He laughs—and darn if he isn’t cute when he smiles—before saying, “Guess I’d better buy good candy this year.”
“No black licorice or breath mints.” I let out a low groan. “But the worst are those peanut butter-flavored taffies wrapped in orange or black wrappers.”
“Those are the worst. I never ate them.”
“Me neither.”
I hold open the bag, and Carson bends down, scoops up the leaves, and stands very close as he shoves them inside. I’m painfully aware of how his Levis-clad butt looks oh-so-good when he bends over. After the bag is full, he glances up at his tree and down at his yard, thanking me for my help. Then he sort of stands there, gazing at me, and I can’t help but ask. “What?”
“Nothing. Sorry. You’d lose all respect for me if I told you,” he mumbles.
“Now you have to tell me.”
He brushes a leaf from his sleeve. “No, really,” he stammers, “it’s ridiculous.”
I nudge his ankle with my sneaker’s rubber toe. “Try me.”
Rolling his eyes skyward, he asks, “Did you ever read The Majestic Seven? That fantasy about the seven heroes who must save their kingdom?”
“No,” I reply. “But I’ve heard of it. Why?”
Carson’s cheeks turn the slightest bit pink. “I was thinking how you’re like Lady Seraphina.”
My hands fly to either side of my face. “It’s because of my pointy ears, right?”
“What? No.” He blinks in confusion. “Why would you make that connection?”
“Because I saw the trailer for the movie adaptation, and the only female character is an elf. The tips of her ears are like razors.”
“No!” Carson swallows a laugh. “God, no, that’s not what I meant.”
I look him up and down. “Well, what did you mean?”
His voice sounds like a worn vinyl record, smooth in the center but scratched at the edges. “You’re the type of girl who could save the world.”
“You mean ‘woman’ and not ‘girl,’ right?”
“Of course. Sorry.” He releases a self-conscious chuckle. “You’re the kind of woman who could save the world. One hundred percent.”
“Thank you.” Then, feeling that magnetic pull, I drop my gaze to the ground.
He hits his forehead. “God. I’m such an idiot. I promised I’d be professional today, and I’ve already blown it, haven’t I?”
I search for a response. Thankfully, Ferris runs up to me, and I busy myself with petting him. “It’s fine. But I don’t understand. Why would I lose all respect for you?”
“Because you’ll realize I like fantasy novels.”
Kneeling down, I let Ferris nuzzle my shoulder. “Please. As if I didn’t already know? Remember how in high school, you’d check out The Prince of Saturn and slide it into your backpack before anyone could see?”
Carson raises an eyebrow. “Except for you.”
I notice a renegade leaf on my shoulder and brush it off. “That’s right. Because I was also always in the media center after lunch, most likely checking out some gothic romance, which is way more looked down upon than science fiction or fantasy.”
“Yeah, but you weren’t on the hockey team.” He smirks. “If the other players knew about my reading habits, they’d have kicked my ass.”
“So, you tried to pretend you weren’t smart? How’d that work out for you, college boy?”
He opens his mouth to respond but laughs instead. “Hey, you mentioned gothic romance, and that reminds me. I dug your story. A contemporary Charlotte Brontë! It was so original. I don’t have very many revision notes for you, because the story flowed. And I’m worried that if you rework it a lot, you’ll lose that.”
“Thanks, I’m glad you liked it. I liked your story too, and not just because you liked mine.” Shifting my weight, I say, “Should we go inside and get to work?”
He nods. “Yeah. Let’s do that. Follow me.”
At this moment, I’d be happy to follow him anywhere.
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Author Bio
Laurel Osterkamp is a Minneapolis-based author whose work explores the emotional complexities of love, loss, and personal reinvention. With novels like Beautiful Little Furies (an Amazon #1 bestseller) and Favorite Daughters, she’s become known for creating characters who are flawed, thoughtful, and deeply human. Osterkamp writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction that blends wit with wisdom, heart with humor. Outside of writing, she teaches adult ESL and middle school enrichment, re-watches iconic ’90s television, and contends with a household full of opinionated pets.
