Safe at Home by Christina Kirby

Watching my dad's health quickly decline over the past few weeks -- and more so over the past two days -- naturally my thoughts have turned to reflecting on my family and home. Which just so happens to the be subject matter for the novel Safe at Home by fellow Soulmate author, Christina Kirby. Home is supposed to be the one place where you'll always be safe and loved. But when that safety is threatened . . .

ABOUT THE BOOK

Driven by fear and desperate to protect her family, Samantha is forced to leave Chicago and everything she’s worked to achieve, only to start over by tossing a dart-at-the-map. The Georgia townsfolk’s true Southern charm is the unexpected prescription needed to heal her soul, and the sexy carpenter who touches her heart are distractions she didn’t plan on, but they might offer her a chance at a new life, if she can let go of her past.

Town heartbreaker, Spencer Malloy, isn’t looking for anything serious. His days are perfect working as a contractor, attending his nephew’s baseball games or taking him fishing. He never expects to fall for the big city girl, Samantha. She’s not his type, timid and closed off, but in her unguarded moments, he’s intrigued by the woman he can’t get out of his mind. The urge to get closer to her grows stronger each day, and when the shadow of evil resurfaces, he vows to protect Samantha, even if it means abandoning his home and joining her on the run.

When confronted by the man who’s bent on revenge, Samantha must choose between running again to save the people she loves, or if she has the strength, to stay and fight for her new life.


Sounds like my kind of story. I adore love stories with a dark danger lurking around the corner.   More, please! Can't wait to read the excerpt Christina sent. 

EXCERPT:

“Here it is,” Jenny announced. She stopped the car in front of an old white house with peeling paint and looked over at Sam whose eyes began to fill with tears.

“Like I said, it needs some work. When Pete got sick, no one really paid much attention to the house. It’s been sitting here idle for a while. His boys just couldn’t bring themselves to sell it at first, and then...”

“No, it’s perfect,” Sam’s voice sounded watery. “It’s the first house I’ve ever owned.”

After fighting off the foolish tears, Sam climbed out of the car, strolled through the freshly cut grass, and up to what could be a beautiful porch. Jenny unlocked the door as she chattered away about the house, but Sam wasn’t listening. This was it, her new home.

Entering through the wood and glass front door, Sam stepped into a little hallway and felt her heart swell. The inside was small and cozy. The perfect place to sit and feel safe from the outside world.

“Excuse me, earth to Sam. Do you want to see the rest of the house?”

Sam turned, face warm. “Yes, sorry. Lead the way.”

Jenny led her down the hall to show her the kitchen, which had a wonderful view of the backyard, they moved through the dining room and then the upstairs before returning to the den. It was a wonderful little house, so much more than what she imagined for herself.

A car backfired out on the main road and Sam jumped.

“Are you okay?” Jenny’s blue eyes widened, her voice threaded with concern.

“Fine.” Sam let out a shaky breath and waited for her heart rate to return to normal. “I must’ve been so lost in all my plans for the house that I was in another world.”

Jenny gave her a warm smile, but continued to watch her with a crease between her perfect eyebrows.

“Should we be off to your office now?” Sam tried to sound relaxed.

Jenny beamed. “The papers are ready for you.”

Relief washed through Sam as the thrill of the sale seemed to distract Jenny from Sam’s nervous behavior. She led the way out the door and took a deep breath of country air. It was going to be okay here. No one knew where she was. Not her family. Not her best friend. No one. She glanced over her shoulder at the little white house, which for her, symbolized so much more than a new house. She was home.

Sounds like Sam has a deep, dark secret that's about to catch up with her. Okay, so maybe I already knew that from reading the blurb, but this scene definitely helps drive that point home. 

To purchase this title, you can click on the links below. 

Amazon - http://amzn.com/B00TKWTKEG
Soul Mate Publishing - http://www.soulmatepublishing.com/

Let's meet the author behind the story. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christina Kirby holds a degree in Public Relations from Auburn University. She worked in banking for four and a half years before deciding to become a stay at home mom to her two sons. Moving every couple of years because of her husband’s job, Christina has had the opportunity to meet all kinds of people and live in many different states. Fortunately, writing is something she can take with her no matter where she lives. Christina is an avid reader of romance, young adult and anything having to do with pop culture. She also knows a copy of Entertainment Weekly and a chocolate chip cookie can cure anything.

CONNECT WITH CHRISTINA: 

Twitter: @CKirbyWriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christina.kirby.395?fref=ts
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9791223.Christina_Kirby
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorchris0192/

Sign up for her newsletter on her website: www.ChristinaKirbyBooks.com

Thank you so much for joining me today, Christina. Please let us know when book 2 in the series hits Amazon's virtual shelf. I'd love to have you come hang out with me again. 

What's up for me next week?

On Tuesday's Romance Weekly Blog Hop, your favorite romance writers will be describing their perfect writing retreat. 

Next Thursday, Carrie Elks will join me to talk about her newest release. 

See y'all soon! 

Romance Weekly: A Space to Write

I'm finally back on the blog hop train! For those who don't know, each Tuesday, the fabulous authors at Romance Writers Weekly spend the day chatting about love, writing, and pretty much anything under the sun. To join in on the fun, simply hop from blog to blog and listen in as we spill all of our secrets . . . trade or otherwise!

If you found me by way of Eden Ashe http://edenashe.com/, welcome! I hope you enjoy your stay.

This week, I posed a question to the group. I want to know where everyone works their writing magic. How many authors have cozy little writing caves they hole up in while they plot their stories? Are they taking up residence at their local Starbucks? Or do they have the luxury of writing on location, traveling around the world on a whim?

I would love to say I have an office to call my own, a place where no one would complain if I plastered my walls with photographs and sticky note reminders. A whiteboard filled with plotting notes and character analysis would line one wall, while I sit at a huge desk with plenty of space to spread out. Of course I would have to have a cute, comfy couch tucked under a bank of windows where I could read or zone out at will. Of course, my view from my cave would be overlooking a sparkling lake or ocean, or even a forest. I'm not all that picky about this. Outside, a cute guy, would periodically wander by, shirtless, of course, and I'd have a new muse to inspire me each day.

But I don't.

Instead, this is where I do most of my writing.

I usually sit on the bed, surrounded by snacks, laptop open, noise-canceling headphones on, and try my darnedest to avoid any and all distractions. Which I usually fail at doing. But once I get in the zone, I can easily spend the entire day here, hopefully capturing my characters' conversations.

On a side note, the afghan at the bottom of the bed is one my mom crocheted. It use to hang over the back of our couch when I was a child. Just a little thing to keep her close to me.

While searching the net for cool images for my post (which I never did find), I managed to stumble upon a nifty link on setting up a writing space. http://stacyennis.com/5-tips-for-setting-up-a-writing-space/

Someday, I'll get my cool and cozy writing cave, but until then . . . . You can find me locked in my bedroom, surrounded by unhealthy snacks, chatting it up with waylaid lovers and killers on the run.

Next up on the blog hop? Dani Jace http://www.danijace.com. Swing on by to see how her writing space stacks up against mine!

Charlotte S. Huck Children's Literature Festival

Out of all the conferences I attend each year, the Charlotte S. Huck Children's Literature Festival is quite possibly the best one, the one I look forward to all year long. For me, it's the best of both worlds. I get to be writer and teacher at the same time, which is rare. To top it all off, I was a presenter for one of the breakout sessions!

Over the past two days, I've learned a ton, met new friends (including a new critique partner for my kid's lit stories), and reaffirmed that yes, I still get horribly nervous presenting in front of adults and am rather bad at it. Fortunately, I had a roomful of nice teachers who took pity on me.

Here's a short recap of the some of the authors I met, and the lessons I learned from them.