When Fate Falls Short by Brooke Edwards Guest Post, Excerpt & Giveaway!

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Hi guys, we have Brooke Edwards popping in for another visit with her upcoming release When Fate Falls Short, we have a fantastic guest post, we have a really great excerpt and Brooke is hosting a comment giveaway! So peeps, check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~

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When Fate Falls Short

by

Brooke Edwards

Childhood sweethearts Nathan Maxwell and Sean Adams took ten years to realize they belonged together, followed by ten years of bliss. When it is snatched away, Sean is left alone with the aftermath. Lost and grieving in a world that doesn’t make sense without Nathan by his side, he struggles to keep himself afloat… until he meets Jesse Lawrence.

The shadow of a congenital heart defect has hung over Jesse like a dark cloud all his life. Nathan’s death saves Jesse’s life—providing the heart Jesse needs to survive—and a chance encounter between their best friends plants Jesse in Sean’s orbit. But how well can a love triangle between a dead man, his grieving lover, and the one with his heart beating in his chest possibly turn out? Real feelings and pure intentions might not be enough.

Release date: 3rd August 2016
Pre-order: Dreamspinner Press

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Brooke Edwards!

A huge thank you to Pixie for both the cover reveal of “When Fate Falls Short” and then having me back for this guest post too! This is my first experience with promoting as my first published piece last year, also with Dreamspinner Press, was included in an anthology and I didn’t have much involvement. I’m so appreciative of the chance to have a spot in such a wonderful blog to start off the release of “When Fate Falls Short,” a Bittersweet Dreams title with DSP.

As the first guest post stop for “When Fate Falls Short” I figured I should talk a little bit about how this story took shape. For something on the short side, it sure spent a long time on the backburner and even more on the drawing board. I started piecing it together back in early 2015 after the bug bit me with the publication of ‘Mens Rea’ and had about half of it completed by July. Other things kept creeping in until the file was abandoned in my WIP folder and I basically forgot about it in favor of lots of boring real life commitments. When that was all quieting down and the weather got hot enough that I started spending ridiculous amounts of time inside with the air-conditioner, I opened it again in November with a fresher set of eyes and a bit more inspiration. It helped when I finally decided that I wanted this to be a Bittersweet Dreams title – angst and drama has always been the sandpit I play in the most and being back in comfortable territory like that spurred me on.

By January of this year I was ready to submit and boy, were the nerves far worse the second time around! I think that had much more to do with the story itself. As much as I loved writing ‘Mens Rea’ and was over the moon to have it included in the Daily Dose Anthology last year, there was nowhere near as much of me invested in it as there was this time around. I was so anxious that it felt like it took a lifetime before the contract offer landed in my inbox, even though I was lucky enough to have an answer before the general waiting period was up. I think I drove the few friends who knew I’d submitted it absolutely crazy with my constant stressing over whether I should have even sent it in! In comparison, the sheer excitement and relief when I was offered the contract for ‘When Fate Falls Short’ was on a whole different level to ‘Mens Rea’.

On the last few months, though, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. My senior editor, Sue, was an absolute gift and everyone who was involved in the publication process has been great. It couldn’t have been a smoother ride for such a green, nervous writer and I’ve learned so much for the next time around.

In conclusion and following the theme of nerves, let me ask you all a question whether you’re a writer or an artist or a chef or anything else. Have you ever created something with so much of you invested in it that when you sent it out into the big wide world, you were completely paralyzed with fear?

As a little incentive, I’m offering a $5 DSP credit to a randomly selected winner who comments on this post. Also, here’s a little bit more from the book to follow on from the excerpt included in the cover reveal post!

– Brooke

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Excerpt

October 2005

“My dad is an asshole,” Sean declares, flopping backward on Nathan’s bed. His voice is petulant, but his face is pinched with tension.

It hurts somewhere deep in Nathan’s gut, and he scoots closer to the bed on his desk chair. “What happened?” he asks, reaching out to rest a hand on Sean’s leg.

“He’s just being a jerk,” Sean says and exhales loudly before rolling over to bury his face in the pillow. He stretches his leg back so it makes contact with Nathan’s hand again, though, taking some of the sting out of rolling away.

Nathan squeezes and then pushes himself up. “I’ll go down and make us cocoa. Does your mom know you’re here?”

Sean gives him a thumbs-up without lifting his head, and Nathan laughs a little as he leaves the room.

Lauren and AJ are at the kitchen table when he gets downstairs, surrounded by paper and markers.

“What are you two up to?” he asks as he swings by the fridge for the milk and cream and grabs down the good chocolate from its hiding place in the cupboard on his way to the stove.

“Decorations,” Lauren says, her tongue peeking out the corner of her mouth.

“That,” AJ echoes, fiercely intent on shading in the edges of what looks like a pumpkin patch.

“Cocoa?” Nathan rummages in the corner cupboard for a saucepan.

AJ makes a strange grumbling noise, and Lauren hums what sounds like some form of please, and Nathan takes both for a yes. He leans against the counter and watches them while the milk heats, then stirs the chocolate shards through and lets it simmer with a little nutmeg and a dash of cinnamon. They perk up, watching him with eager eyes as the smell drifts from the stove. By the time he pours it into four mugs and swirls fresh cream through each, they’re hovering.

“Get the marshmallows,” he says and barely blinks before AJ is pressing them into his hands. AJ’s and Lauren’s mugs get three each, and they take them back to the table carefully.

Nathan puts six marshmallows in Sean’s and three in his own, rinsing the saucepan and leaving it upside down on the draining rack. He ruffles the twins’ hair and takes the mugs upstairs.

Cocoa,” Sean croons when Nathan reaches the door, and he makes grabby hands from the bed.

Sean is sitting up, so Nathan figures they’re already doing better than they had been. Sean’s face lights up when he spots the marshmallow bounty. Carefully, he pulls Nathan down beside him as soon as he’s within reach.

“You’re the best,” he says, pressing a kiss to the corner of Nathan’s mouth as he cradles the mug of cocoa to his chest.

Nathan settles in at his side and lets the cocoa and the warmth where they huddle together say everything.

Cover reveal excerpt can be found here

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About Brooke

Author, dreamer, fangirl and foodie – twenty-something Brooke Edwards will always call Australia home no matter where the wanderlust takes her. Her tertiary education bounced from history and linguistics to criminology and history and even went as far as nutrition and sports/exercise science. Making ends meet through a similarly wide variety of jobs from education, retail, fitness, hospitality and finance means she never has any shortage of inspiration for characters or their adventures. Writing, closely followed by the culinary arts, has been her longest-running and most consistent passion and her greatest dream would be to one day not have to do anything else but write. Until then, she can probably be found in a caffeine-induced haze either behind her computer or in the kitchen.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

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Giveaway!

Win a $5 Dreamspinner Press credit!

(Just leave a comment on this post in answer to Brooke’s question. Let me ask you all a question whether you’re a writer or an artist or a chef or anything else. Have you ever created something with so much of you invested in it that when you sent it out into the big wide world, you were completely paralyzed with fear?)

(Ends 30th July 2016)

Brooke will contact the winner and make arrangements to award the Dreamspinner credit.
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16 thoughts on “When Fate Falls Short by Brooke Edwards Guest Post, Excerpt & Giveaway!

  1. I’m not of the creative sort, but I understand the feeling. It must be terrifying to expose something you’ve worked so hard on… Anyway, the book sounds really good. I’m sure it will do great.
    susanaperez7140(at)gmail(dot)com

    1. Thanks for commenting, Susana, and for the lovely words about the book! It can be very frightening but also so rewarding 🙂

  2. Yearsss ago in my late teens I submit a short story to participate in a short fiction contest held by a well known female magazine in my country. Only won an honorary place and some stipend. But eh, I remember the jubilation when I read the announcement. 😀
    puspitorinid AT yahoo DOT com

    1. Even an honorary place and a stipend is a great achievement, Didi! Thank you very much for commenting 🙂

  3. I have a project I’m working on that, while it has not been released to the world, I’ve let a few very close friends take a look and it scared me to death! It was one of the most nerve wracking experiences for me!

    This book sounds great and I’m looking forward to checking it out! 🙂

    1. Sometimes letting friends and people you know look at them is so much more frightening than sending it out to complete strangers! Kudos for the bravery, and thank you for the kind words <3

  4. I’m sorry to say, but no. I have no creativity whatsoever so I just don’t create. I am a dedicated consumer, though.

    1. Dedicated consumers are the reason authors create, so don’t downplay your role in the cycle! Thanks so much for commenting 🙂

  5. Back in university, I had to write and present a thesis paper. My topic was a bit unusual and I was terrified the prof would hate it. But, she actually loved it (whew). 🙂

    1. I’m so glad to hear your prof loved it! That would have been very nerve-wracking, but it sounds like it all ended well 🙂 Thanks so much for commenting!

    1. That’s okay, Jennie, thank you for commenting anyway! There are lots of different types of creativity out there, maybe you just haven’t found the right one yet 🙂

  6. I’m a tiny bit creative, but a coward. The world I’ve sent things out into is small; i.e. I’ve kept it that way out of fear. Have made gifts for loved ones. On my husband’s and my best friend of 40 years birthdays, I wrote them both story-poems, presented with illustrations, and was sick to my stomach thinking they weren’t good enough gifts. The ensuing tears, hugs, and the fact that they both framed the poems was the most wonderful thing. I felt like I received the gifts, ya know? I am in awe of all authors; you have the bravery to send your thoughts, ideas, perceptions, and visions out into a world that is not always kind, not always receptive. I admire your courage.

    1. What an absolutely incredible thing to gift them with! Wonderful and brave too, especially considering the fear of their reception. I’d love to give you the DSP voucher, can you email me at brookeedwardsauthor @ gmail (dot) com with your email address associated with your DSP account so I can arrange for it to be credited?

      Thank you so much for commenting <3

  7. Oh Nikki, I can’t even imagine how hard that would have been as a mother! I’m glad to hear it all worked out though <3

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