Curves in the Road Book Blast Sept 1

Curves in the Road

By: Amy K McClung

Published: August 5, 2014

Pages: 173

Genre:  New Adult

**This book is part of a New Adult Series. Each book will have an ending though, no Cliffhangers! They will all be New Adult and have similar themes with crossover characters***

When you build a road from one place to another, it won't always be a straight line. Sometimes you have to add curves to move around the obstacles. Life is like that as well. Sometimes we have a straight path of what we want in life and we do everything we can to follow that path until suddenly a mountain appears and we have to veer off course to get around it. Even though we face those curves, it doesn't mean we won't end up on the same path we started. Then again, sometimes we discover roads that we never knew existed and that will get us to where we want to be.

Derrick Collins lives in Nashville TN with his six year old daughter, Katelyn. Derrick found love once before in a girl named Mary Jane, until she moved away to Florida to fulfill her dreams of becoming an engineer.

Derrick's life hasn't been the same since Mary Jane left two years ago. His days are spent working long hours in order to give his daughter a good life. His social life is non-existent these days and he's decided it's time for a change. Derrick sets out to find his happily ever after once and for all.

Mary Jane Evans' life took a different path than she ever dreamed. She moved to Florida for an intern program at Disney. She left her life in Nashville that included childhood friends, family, and the first man she ever loved, Derrick Collins. Now it's time to decide if she will move back to that life or stay in the new one she has created for herself. Will Derrick still be waiting for her? What if she's been gone too long and he no longer cares?

Can these two find their paths back to each other or were here too many Curves in the Road?

Excerpt from Derrick's POV

Some people never find the person they are meant to be with while others find that person and know that they are the one, but they can’t make it work, no matter how hard they try. Then there are the lucky ones, like my brother Ashton, who finds the girl of his dreams and lives happily-ever-after.   I met the person I’m supposed to end up with thanks to Ashton and his wife Gracie, the problem is that we couldn’t make it work.  I still remember the day we met...

It was a warm spring day in Nashville. I was outside behind our house playing with Katelyn, my daughter; she was only four.  I became a father at the young age of sixteen.  My high school girlfriend wasn’t ready to be a mom, so I took on the responsibility on my own.  I didn’t want anyone else to raise my child.

 Katelyn was playing on the swing set, begging me to push her higher, when my phone rang.

The next time she swung close I stopped her and glanced at the unknown number.  “Hello?”

The voice on the line sent me into a panic.  “Derrick, it’s Gracie.” 

As soon as I heard her name, I knew something was wrong with Ash.  I had only met Gracie once, and there’s no other reason she’d be calling me.  I stepped a few feet away from Katelyn, keeping her within eyesight so that she couldn’t hear my panic as I asked, “What’s wrong? What happened to Ash?” She couldn’t get the words out without crying. He’d been in a motorcycle accident.

She gave the phone to her friend Cameron, who filled me in that they didn’t know anything other than he is alive. I didn’t have anyone to watch Katie and didn’t want to take her to the hospital before I knew what kind of injuries Ash had suffered.  The last thing a four-year-old needed to see was her hero uncle attached to machines and broken. Ash has been Katelyn’s hero from the beginning.  Ashton is six years older than me and has always been the best older brother.  He’s very protective of me and my little girl.

Gracie suggested a friend of hers that could watch Katelyn.

Katie is usually very shy around strangers, and I like to let her get to know someone first, today I couldn’t afford to be too selective when my brother is hospitalized.  Gracie set it up for me to meet her friend Mary Jane in the park down the street from the hospital.  She informed me that she drove a cherry red SUV so that I could spot her easily. 

Katelyn whimpered the entire way there that she didn’t want to stay with a strange person. When Mary Jane showed up, everything changed at that moment.  She stepped out of her car and, though I didn’t realize it at the time; she stole my heart. 

Excerpt from Mary Jane's POV

"What did you guys think of the show tonight?"

“Well, you’re no Johnny Castle,” Cam said. 

“Who is Johnny Castle?” Tristan asked.

“Dirty Dancing? Patrick Swayze? Ring a bell now?” Cam asked.

Tristan replied, “Nope, never seen the movie.” 

Cam’s mouth dropped open in shock, “Get out.” 

Tristan chuckled, “I’m serious; I’ve never seen it.” 

Cam pointed at the door, “No, seriously, Get out!  No one is allowed in my presence if they haven’t seen Dirty Dancing! Nobody puts baby in a corner either!” Tristan laughed and stood there for a moment watching as Cam crossed his arms and tapped his foot. He gestured dramatically again toward the door. Cameron lifts his hands dramatically into the air, "I can't be in his presence." He storms off to my bedroom and slams the door behind him.

“Is he serious?” he asked me.

Eyes wide, eyebrows raised, I reply, “Deadly. You can come over tomorrow, and we'll watch it.”

Tristan turned to me, “I can’t believe that just happened. Who takes movies so seriously that they base their friends on whether they've seen them or not?”

 “That’s Cameron; he’s serious about his movies. He’s one of the most awesome friends anyone could ask for though, which is how he gets away with that stuff. You’ve seen The Breakfast Club though, right?”

Tristan shook his head and said, “I know they reference it in Pitch Perfect. Does that at least win me some points?” 

I wrapped my arm through his and sighed, “Sheesh, man. We’re having a movie night tonight. If he finds out you don’t know who John Bender is, you’ll never pass his approval to be in the group.” 

Tristan looked pensive, “I know Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall and Emilio Estevez are in it, I don’t remember anyone named John Bender though. Is he still acting?” 

I rolled my eyes and pressed my hand over his mouth. “Stop talking Tristan, you’re digging yourself a deeper grave here. John Bender is played by Judd Nelson, and he is the biggest crush of Cameron's.  Any other work of his can go unnoticed, but when people don't know John Bender, Cameron disowns them.”

 

Author Bio

Amy McClung was born in Nashville, TN. She is the second oldest of four girls. She married Daniel McClung in September 2005 and they currently reside just outside of Nashville.

She graduated from Father Ryan High School in 1996. In 2002 obtained her general certification in medical coding and billing and in 2009 she obtained a specialty certification in Hospital medical coding and billing.

Amy and her husband are both fans of fantasy novels as well as avid movie collectors. The Parker Harris Series is the first series of books by this author. Cascades of Moonlight is Book #1, Dreams, Spells, and Moonlit Tales is Book #2, and The Dark Moon Book #3 and The Cold Moon Book #3.5 a Novella from Mitchell's POV. Her second series is a New Adult Contemporary Romance, The Southern Devotion Series, with each book having as a standalone novel with crossover characters.

The first book in that series is For the Love of Gracie. Curves in the Road is her newest release as Book 3 in the NA series. Her favorite past times include watching movies, drawing, and reading fantasy novels. Her first book was a means of therapy for her as it enabled her to escape reality for a while during a difficult transition in her life. Her current work in progress is a spin-off of The Parker Harris Series called "The Crispin Sinclair Chronicles" that will be released in October 2014 as a YA Fantasy series.

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