Thank you Ariella for having me on your blog today.
My new book “Fresh Beginnings”, which was released this week, has a very special meaning to me. My husband and I took our two girls to the US last year. We rented a motorhome and travelled through five states in a bit over three weeks. We had the most amazing time, exploring this beautiful country, meeting wonderful people, learning about the US culture, and having a little chuckle at some “differences”.
“Fresh Beginnings”, which is the third in the Beginnings series, takes Jared to the US where he meets Ivy, an American “hitchhiker”. I’d describe the story as “our diary” with a romance written around it.
I hope the readers will love it as much as I do.
By Iris Blobel
Blurb:
The small town of Hobart in Tasmania has witnessed
many beginnings in recent years. At yet one more beginning, the wedding of a
friend, Jared Fraser decides it’s time for some fresh beginnings to come his
way… And he sets out for a holiday to the US to travel along the Route 66 in a
motorhome.
Ivy Bennett thought leaving her boyfriend would be
the hard part. It doesn’t take long to figure out how wrong she was. As she
struggles with making a new start in her life, the last person she expects to
lead her to happiness is a laid-back Australian on holiday.
Then the
arrival of family friend Mia Levesque and her boyfriend, Josh, turns Jared’s
holidays upside-down when he’s forced to play arbitrator between the two teenagers.
Author:
Iris Blobel
was born and raised in Germany and only immigrated to Australia in the late
1990s. Having had the travel bug most of her life, Iris spent quite some time
living in Scotland, London as well as Canada where she actually had met her
future husband. Her love for putting her stories onto paper has only recently
emerged, but now her laptop is a constant companion. Iris resides west of
Melbourne with her husband and her beautiful two daughters as well as her dog.
Next to her job at a private school she also presents a German Program at the
local Community Radio.
Buy Links:
Where to Find Me:
Excerpt:
"G'day!" He stared at her and
for some reason something tugged at his heart. Not that he wanted that. He had
no room for women, let alone American ones. They all were on earth to make life
complicated. Mark was constantly running around for Sophie or Hope, even though
Mark's wife was one in a million and little Hope was simply adorable,
especially when she was asleep.
"Ya know it's dangerous to hitch a
ride," he finally said when she was still quiet.
She stared at him for a moment, but
then replied with the typical American twang in her voice. "I know you
said something, but I have no idea what."
He chuckled. "It is dangerous to
hitchhike," he repeated with exaggerated pronunciation.
The woman stepped a bit closer to the
window. "Are you from Austria?"
He laughed aloud.
"Australia, I meant," she
added, seemingly embarrassed by the mistake.
"I am indeed." He watched her
looking ahead towards the horizon. "So you wanna hitch a ride?"
Jared had a feeling she didn't want to,
but her current situation didn't give her many choices. There they were in the
middle of nowhere, with the next place a fair few miles away.
"Name's Jared," he said and
then he opened the door and walked around the motorhome. Leaning against the
vehicle, he looked at her. She was pretty. Thin, but pretty. When her brown
eyes met his, he experienced another one of those heart tugs and wasn't
impressed at all. He tried to look right past her. It wasn't happening though.
They were like magnets.
"Jared," he repeated and held
out his hand.
Her look went right past him into the
distance, and he assumed she was fighting with herself, part of her wanting to
get off the road, the other part being worried.
"Anybody else travelling with
you?" she asked quietly.
He shook his head. "Nope."
She closed her eyes, took a deep
breath, and, after a brief moment, reached for his hand. "Nice meeting
you."
Acknowledging that she wasn't much into
sharing details like her name, he opened the door for her. "Where are ya
headin'?" he asked.
A smile started in her eyes and played
with the corner of her lips. He felt himself smiling back. There was an
appreciation in her smile.
"Could you drop me off at the next
stop?" she asked hesitantly.
"Most certainly, but where are ya
headin?"
She shrugged. "Kingman?"
"Is that on this road?"
Nodding, she said. "Yes, it is. It
should be less than a hundred miles along this highway."
"Then hop in."
She turned to get into the motorhome,
and he took in her small stature and the narrow shoulders which seemed even
smaller in her tight, red T-shirt. Jared noticed her cargoes were just hanging
onto her hips. A nice steak wouldn't go astray on these hips. Suddenly she
stopped and moved to look at him. "Thank you," she whispered.
"No worries mate."
Jared held her gaze and wasn't sure
what to say or do. She simply stood in front of him like frozen.
"My name is Ivy," she said
after a long moment.
"Hedera. An evergreen climbing or
ground-creeping woody plant in the family Araliaceae."
With a frown, she stared at him.
"I really didn't understand that
one."
He laughed. "Sorry, mate. I got
carried away. I'm a landscaper. Ivy is a climbing plant." Scratching the
back of his head, he added, slightly self-conscious, "And, of course, a beautiful name."
There was a small laugh as she stepped
into the motorhome. He went around and slid behind the wheel before driving
back onto the road. There was a long silence, and Jared wasn't really sure what
to do or say. Usually, he was good with silence. Actually, he loved it. But at
that moment, the silence made him uncomfortable.
"So, what brings ya out into the
middle of the sticks?"
When there was no reply, he turned and
looked at her. There was a big frown on her face, and he sighed.
"I thought you all speak English
as well?"
"We do," she said with a
slight giggle. "But I'm not so sure about you Australians."
With a grin he replied, "Now,
don't be cheeky, Ivy."
"Don't bite the hand that feeds
you, my mom always said." She laughed. "No way would I make fun of
you."
"So, you're expectin' a meal as
well?"
There was a moment of silence again,
and he glanced over. The smile was gone and panic was written all over her
face.
"I… I didn't—"
Quickly he reached out for her hand.
"I'm pulling your leg." And when she didn't reply again, he muttered,
"This thing with you Americans not understanding English is turning into a
problem. I was kiddin'."
"Pulling your leg?" She shook
her head. "Never heard of it."
A bark of laughter filled the small
space. "Anyway. Talkin' about food. There's a small place ahead. Want some
lunch?"
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.