Book Birthday Party, Day Two: Author Julie Lessman

What it's day two already?! Wow, time sure does fly when you're having fun. Miss out on day one 's action? Go here to keep the party going with Laura and enter the giveaway. Today I'm so pleased to introduce one of my very first blog guests and friend the talented Julie Lessman. Please welcome her and feel free to leave comments on the excerpt that she's chosen to share. I'm sure Miss Julie will be stopping by all day long even though she's a super-busy lady.

********

A Heart Revealed (Winds of Change Book 2) born September 1, 2011, to Julie Lessman and Revell Books

From Revell:

Her heart is tied to a youthful vow . . . but can true love set it free?Ten years ago, Emma Malloy fled Dublin for Boston, escaping the husband who scarred her beautiful face. The physical and emotional wounds have faded with time, and her life is finally full of purpose and free from the pain of her past. But when she falls for her friend Charity's handsome and charming brother, Sean O'Connor, fear and shame threaten to destroy her. Could Sean and Emma ever have a future together? Or is Emma doomed to live out the rest of her life denying the only true love she's ever known?

Filled with intense passion and longing, deception and revelation, A Heart Revealed will hold you in its grip until the very last page.

~ Available to purchase from Amazon and other booksellers.~

********

Excerpt from A Heart Revealed

Copyright 2011 Julie Lessman

He turned to go, and her heart caught in her throat. It took every shred of her will to keep her voice humble. “Luke, wait, please—can’t we talk before you go?”

A muscle tightened in his broad back while he stood at the door, head bowed and hand on the knob. “No. I’m not ready yet—I still have frustrations to vent.” He opened it t

o leave, and her humility died an ugly death.

With a harsh gasp, she flew across the room and slammed the door, blocking his way. “No need to duke it out at the gym, McGee,” she snapped, “I’ll give you a good fight right here.”

He jerked her aside. “Get out of my way, Katie, we’ll talk when I’m good and ready.”

“No,” she said, shoving him back, “we’re going to talk now.”

He leaned in, eyes flashing. “Get this straight, Katie Rose, and get it good—you don’t run this household and you don’t run my life.”

“Our life!” she hissed, tears pooling against her will. She battled the quiver of her lip with a thrust of her chin. “We’re one, whether you like it or not. In God’s eyes, if not in yours.”

“One flesh, Katie, but two wills. What you did . . .” he shook his head, eyes naked with pain and voice hard, “wounded me. You’re my wife, my family, the one I should trust . . .”

Her throat constricted. “You can trust me, Luke, I promise. I won’t ever do this again.”

Fatigue shadowed his features as he tightened his grip on his bag. “No, Katie, you won’t. Because if you do, you’ll jeopardize our marriage more than you know.” He opened the door. “We’ll talk later, when my anger’s under control, but for now, I’m leaving.”

“Well, that makes t

wo of us then,” she whispered. “When you get back, Kit and I will be gone.” A sob rose in her throat as she ran down the hall, tears streaming. She heard the front door slam, but ignored it, hauling her suitcase from the bedroom closet and thrusting it on their bed. Hands shaking, she opened her dresser drawer and snatched an armful of clothes.

“What the devil are you doing?” he asked from the doorway, his tone taut.

She continued to pack.

He strode forward and hurled his duffel onto the floor, the sting of a curse sizzling the air. “I said, what are you doing, Katie?”

Yanking more clothes from the drawer, she flung them into the bag, facing him with fire in her eyes. “You refuse to talk? Fine. I refuse to stay. I won’t live in silence, Luke McGee, no matter how angry you are. We’ll stay at my parents’” She turned away to retrieve her toiletries from her vanity.

“You’re not going anywhere—”

She spun around. “No? Well, to borrow a phrase—you don’t run my life.”

Jaw ground tight, he seized her suitcase and dumped it out before pitching it on the floor.

She stared, mouth gaping. “You’re a devil,” she rasped, voice straining low to avoid waking Kit.

Muscled arms to his hips, he gave her a thin smile. “Yeah? Well, you wouldn’t exactly make it past the pearly gates, you little brat.” He scooped up a skirt and tossed it at her. “Put your clothes away.”

He headed for the door, and she jerked the suitcase onto the bed once again to repack her clothes.

She singed him with a scathing look, her whisper harsh. “This isn’t the BCAS, you brainless Neanderthal—you can’t order me around.”

In two powerful strides he had her suitcase upended again and clothes toppled in another unsightly heap. He launched the bag on the bed. His voice was a threat edged with a hard smile. “Sure I can, Katie—I’m bigger than you. I suggest you put the clothes away—now.”

She reared up to kick him, but he was too fast and deflected her with an innocent parry that toppled her back on the bed. He slacked a leg, hands parked low on his hips. “You’re a handful, Katie Rose, but so help me, I will wear the pants in this family or die trying.”

Katie gritted her teeth, anger hissing through every syllable. “Now that’s the best idea you’ve had yet, you overgrown ape—croak away!” Her lip curled in a sneer that belied the tears in her eyes. “And you were going to make me the ‘happiest woman alive’—HA!”

~Please visit Julie @ her website and be sure to check out her "Journal Jots," you can usually find a pretty juicy excerpt or news about Julie!

********

Giveaway: Enter to win your choice of any one of Julie's books including the newly released A Heart Revealed, book 2 in the Winds of Change series.

~To be entered simply fill out the form below. YOU MUST DO THIS OR YOU WON'T BE ENTERED! US Residents only, ages 13 and up. Void where prohibited. Closes for entries 9/11/11 @12:01 AM

~For 2 extra entries leave a comment for Julie asking about any of her books or just to simply say hi! Be sure to leave your first name and last initial in your comment so I can match it up with your form entry.