No Chance Meeting by Jaye Elliot // Blog Tour - Book Excerpt + Author Post
I was excited to get the chance to see what a different genre would be like when written by the author of one of my favorite fantasy series!!! I really enjoyed this book and while this is not a review post, I'll share a link so you can go read my review if you so desire! Make sure you check out the giveaways at the end of the post!!!
About the Book
Alex Jennings is done with life. After losing her brother in Afghanistan, everything has collapsed around her. Getting laid off from her day job and failing in her art career, she has nowhere left to turn. She once had faith to believe that all things would work together for good, but that faith died with her brother. Now she just wants the pain to end.
Riley Conrad served thirteen years in the military until three bullets sent him home. After a year and a half of physical therapy and scraping together a living, all he wants is to live a simple life and perhaps even open the coffee shop he dreams about. However, the weight of failing his parents’ expectations doesn’t make it easy, and working as a bartender isn’t getting him anywhere fast.
Could a “chance” meeting between Alex and Riley set them both on the path God always intended?
You can read my review HERE.
Available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and more!
20% of all February sales will go to the Mighty Oaks Warrior Programs.
Does that book blurb sound intriguing? Here is a little excerpt that might pique your interest even more:
“Turn in here,” she said quietly when they reached the driveway.
Riley drove slowly up the path leading toward the barn and into a large yard dotted with
mature maple and aspen trees. Tucked between them stood the old, white-trimmed yellow
farmhouse with a wide wraparound porch Alex had called home for nineteen years. And even
though she had lived away from it for the last several, she still considered it home. It was where
all of her happiest memories resided...well, most of them. Aspen Creek had developed its own
special memories.
mature maple and aspen trees. Tucked between them stood the old, white-trimmed yellow
farmhouse with a wide wraparound porch Alex had called home for nineteen years. And even
though she had lived away from it for the last several, she still considered it home. It was where
all of her happiest memories resided...well, most of them. Aspen Creek had developed its own
special memories.
They pulled up to the house and parked alongside her dad’s farm pickup. Once Riley shut off
the engine, Alex unbuckled her seatbelt and took another deep breath.
the engine, Alex unbuckled her seatbelt and took another deep breath.
“You all right?”
She looked over at him. “Yeah, I guess I’m just a bit jittery.”
His mouth quirked with an encouraging little smile. “I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.”
She let out a humorless laugh and shook her head at herself. “Sorry. You’re the one who is
meeting them for the first time. I should be the one assuring you.”
meeting them for the first time. I should be the one assuring you.”
His smile only widened. “Don’t worry about it.”
He got out of the truck and walked around to her door. Alex could just as well have opened it
herself, but it gave her an extra moment to calm her nerves. The screen door of the house slapped
shut as she crawled out and looked up to see her parents on their way down the porch steps. The
sight of them drove home just how much time had passed since her last visit. Her eyes stung as
she walked forward to meet them. Her dad reached her first.
herself, but it gave her an extra moment to calm her nerves. The screen door of the house slapped
shut as she crawled out and looked up to see her parents on their way down the porch steps. The
sight of them drove home just how much time had passed since her last visit. Her eyes stung as
she walked forward to meet them. Her dad reached her first.
“Hi, Dad,” she said as he wrapped her up in a warm, secure hug.
“Hey, sweetheart,” his deep voice rumbled in her ear. “It’s good to see you. We missed you.”
“I missed you too.” Her throat clogged.
I love learning about "behind the scenes" of things and what goes into writing books never fails to surprise me. Jaye is sharing some of the research she had to do to get everything correct for her "real life" story. *SOME BOOK SPOILERS*
Top 5 Research Topics
In writing my first ever contemporary romance, I discovered that I actually had to do a lot more
research than I ever have for writing fantasy. Turns out, writing about real life is more complicated
because you’ve got to get it right. Here are the top five topics I had research while writing
No Chance Meeting. Warning! Some book spoilers!
- Vehicle engines – Okay, I’m about as far from a mechanic as anyone could get. My dad
(thankfully) takes care of all of my vehicle stuff. But when I was writing the scene where
Alex’s Jeep won’t start, I realized I needed to try to figure out why it wouldn’t start. In the
end, I didn’t include such information since Alex was stuck in her own head and not really
paying attention to what Riley was doing to fix it, but it was something I researched. - Traumatic brain injury – Obviously, when I had Riley end up in the hospital, I had to do
research on traumatic brain injuries. There was a whole lot to it that I didn’t know, and that
really shaped how I ended up writing those chapters. I’m not a doctor any more than I’m a
mechanic, but I did try to make it as accurate and realistic as possible. - Art – I’m not a total stranger to art. I dabble in watercolors and loved oil painting when I
was young. So the painting aspect wasn’t foreign to me, but I did have to research college
art degrees and art galleries. That part of art was a world I knew nothing about before I
started writing NCM. - Bartending – This is not the sort of topic you expect to research as a Christian author, but
since it plays a big part in the book, I did have to look into it. The only bars I’ve had
experience with were at weddings I attended while growing up. I’ve never been in a “real”
bar. So, again, this was a world I knew nothing about before this. - Colorado – I’m a Wisconsin girl and have never actually visited Colorado, so that was an
important research topic for me. I had to research everything from terrain to weather. One
of the things that surprised me was finding out that Colorado’s average winter temps are
quite a bit higher than Wisconsin’s. It had me wondering, as I do often, why I live in such a
cold area.
About the Author
Giveaway #1
To celebrate the release of No Chance Meeting, Jaye is giving away a reader bundle that includes a signed copy of NCM, a hand-painted watercolor bookmark, a coffee mug, and a bag of Dove chocolates! Enter using the form below. U.S. entries only. Not open internationally.
Giveaway #2
For her second giveaway, Jaye is offering 3 ebook copies of No Chance Meeting. Open internationally!
Click HERE to see other blog stops on this tour. There are all kinds of fun posts to read!
Thank you so much for being part of the tour!
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