T. Leigh - A Tragic Wreck

Turning, she headed toward the ornate dining room, the table and chairs all covered with sheets. Walking around the room, she felt as if she had been there before, but that was impossible. She had only known Alexander for less than a year and this was the first time he invited her home with him. But still, the smell and sounds in that room were strangely familiar to her.

Scrunching her brows, her eyes settled on a large picture frame covered with a white sheet. The other portraits weren’t hidden. Only that one was. Olivia wondered why. Slowly making her way to the center of the room where the enormous portrait hung on the wall, she gingerly began to raise the sheet, wondering what was underneath.

“Olivia, dear! There you are!” Colleen called out, startling her.

She jumped, placing her hand over her chest, feeling guilty that she was caught snooping around her home. “Colleen. I’m sorry. I came downstairs to see if you needed any help. And I guess I got a little sidetracked.” She shrugged her shoulders.

Colleen walked over to Olivia and placed her hands on her shoulders, trying to lead her out of the room and away from the large family portrait with Alexander and Olivia as small children together. “I understand. It happens to the best of us.”

“Colleen,” Olivia said, raising her voice. “Why is that portrait covered up?”

Colleen stopped, turning to look at her. She hated having to lie to the poor girl. Not when her son should have simply told her the truth by now. He swore he would tell her, and she didn’t want to interfere…not yet, anyway. “I’m sorry, Olivia. It’s just, whenever Alexander comes home, I try to rid the house of any memories of…”

“Oh,” Olivia said in understanding. “I should have known.” She turned to head back upstairs.

“Olivia, dear,” Colleen called out, causing her to turn back around and face her. “He loves you very much. I’ve never seen him so happy in all his life. Even when he was a little boy.” She smiled before retreating back outside, leaving Olivia alone with her thoughts about Alexander and why the dining room in that house brought back memories of her fifth birthday.

Expected Publication - May 5, 2014

WHERE DO I EVEN begin with my acknowledgements this time around? It’s amazing how much everything has changed since I hit that little publish button on a sunny, hot day back in August. It was a Tuesday. I remember. Because it was half-price wine day at one of our local bars here in SoCal where the hubs and I call home. I just finished my last review of A Beautiful Mess and we decided to go out for lunch and some vino to celebrate. I had already uploaded my manuscript to kindle direct and was really just waiting until the time was right to hit “publish”. After we returned home, I put on my playlist and what song comes on? None other than A Beautiful Mess by Jason Mraz. It was a sign. So I hit publish. And nothing has been the same since. People started to overwhelm me with their positive responses. I had people telling me how much they wished they could be Olivia, despite the fact that she’s cray-cray, just so they could date Mr. Burnham (or as we now call him Mr. B.)

And there are so many people I need to thank now. I know I’m going to forget some people and I apologize. First off, my wonderful P.A., Jessica Green from A Girl Amongst Books Blog. She makes my life easier so I can focus more on writing and less on more mundane tasks. And she’s an amazing person and friend. And I’m so happy she stumbled on my page and my book.

I also need to give a big thanks to book bloggers everywhere. Thank you for supporting independent authors. Posting and pimping our books on your Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs is what helps us spread word about what we’ve done. Without the help of these people, who don’t make a dime off what they do, those of us who prefer to remain independent would have a hell of a time with marketing. There’s so many bloggers I want to thank, but first is Terrie Honeyball over at Obsession is a Book Blog. She was one of my very, very first early supporters. She came on board pretty much the same day I put my first book up on Goodreads back in July. And she’s supported me ever since.

Then there’s Stefani Tabakovska from I Read Books. I sent her an ARC of A Beautiful Mess and just a few short days later, she contacted me and asked to be on my street team. I had no idea what she was even talking about. I did a little research and figured I’d give a shot. So I decided to form a team of girls to help me promote my book, thinking that maybe ten people would like my book enough to want to join. Little did I know that I’d now be overseeing a team of over fifty amazing women, and there are even more people who contact me on a regular basis asking to join.

This amazing group of women promote my books in their home town and on different social media sites and I would never have experienced the success I have without them. So they get a huge, huge thank you. I don’t know how I can ever repay them, but I hope granting them access to read this book back in September helped. So thanks to all you amazing women! Alexis Brodie, Anna Kesy, Brenda Mcleod, Cecilia Ugas, Cheryl Tuggle, Christine Davison, Chrissy Fletcher, Cindy Gibson, Claire Pengelly, Crystal Casquero, Crystal Swarmer, Danielle Estes, Eann Goodwin-Giddings, Ebony McMillan, Erin Thompson, Estella Robinson, Jamie Kimok, Janie Beaton, Jennifer Goncalves, Jessica Green, Johnnie-Marie Howard, Kathryn Adair, Kathy Arguelles, Kathy Coopmans, Kayla Hines, Karrie Puskas, Keesha Murray, Kimberly Kazawic, Lea James, Lindsey Armstrong, Lori Garside, Lori Moore, Marianna Nichols, Meg Faulkner, Megan Galt, Natasha Rochon, Nicola Horner, Nicole Chronister, Pamela McGuire, Rachel Hill, Shane Zajac, Shannon Baker-Ferguson, Shannon Palmer, Suzie Cairney, Tabitha Strokes, Tiffany Craig, Tracey Williams, Yamara Martinez. Much Love and TEAM CAM! :-)

Also big thanks to my amazing Beta readers who devoured the entire three book series in about a week or two. Lynne Ayling, Karen Emery, Natalie Naranjo, Stacy Stoops thank you so much for reading for me, not knowing what you were getting yourselves into. And thank you for supporting and helping to spread the word about my books. If it wasn’t for your positive words of encouragement, I never would have published at all.

None of this would have been possible without the love and support of my friends and family. My parents, Don and Linda Martin raised me to love to read and express myself creatively. They, alongside my two eccentric sisters, Melissa Morgera and Amy Perras, and my best friend, Kerri Deschaine, gave me inspiration to do whatever I wanted to, whether that was arguing in a court room or writing a romance novel.

Another big thanks to my incredible editor, Kim Young. She was absolutely amazing when going through my manuscript. It was as if she knew exactly what I was trying to say, but couldn't because of the millions of different thoughts filtering through my brain at that moment. So thank you, Kim, for being able to read my mind.

And of course, I need to thank the most important person in my life. My husband, Stan. Without his support I wouldn’t be able to have this phony-balogna job of being a writer. He’s the only one I’ll ever want to throw oysters off the side of the deck with. Always.

Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank you…the readers. My fans. For loving what I do. For loving my characters. And for constantly supporting me. I would be nowhere without all of you. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being the best fans a girl could ask for.

T.K. Leigh, otherwise known as Tracy Leigh Kellam, is a producer / attorney by trade. Originally from New England, she now resides in sunny Southern California with her husband, dog and three cats, all of which she has rescued (including the husband). She always had a knack for writing, but mostly in the legal field. It wasn’t until recently that she decided to try her hand at creative writing and is now addicted to creating different characters and new and unique story lines in the Contemporary Romantic Suspense genre.