Secret Sister by Emelle Gamble Author Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway

Secret Sister

by Emelle Gamble

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BLURB:

To their friends, Nick and Cathy Chance have the perfect marriage. High school sweethearts who’ve been together for ten years, they’ve weathered challenges and are as committed as they were when they first fell in love. Cathy trusts Nick, Nick’s world revolves around his wife, and the future looks golden.

To everyone who knows them, Cathy Chance and Roxanne Ruiz have a perfect friendship. They connected in grade school and since then have been each other’s confident and trusted advisor. Cathy loves the gorgeous Roxanne like a sister, Roxanne has fun-loving Cathy’s back in every situation, though lately there’s been tension between these two best friends…

And then, on a sunny summer morning, the unthinkable occurs, throwing into doubt the truth of what each of these people really know about themselves and one another.

Will Roxanne’s sacrifice be too little, and too late? Should Nick’s love for his wife be strong enough to risk trusting his heart more than logic? Can Cathy’s devotion to Nick give her enough strength to convince him to see her for who she really is?

Secret Sister proves how strong, how stubborn, and how trustworthy love can be as Nick and Cathy and Roxanne are challenged to overcome the secrets, the lies … and one extraordinary twist of fate that turns their lives upside down.

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Excerpt 

It was sunny and mild the July morning Roxanne and I headed up the state highway into the Verdugo Hills. But the Santa Anas were blowing in from the desert, and those aptly called devil winds rocked our car with gusts of heat and dust that caused tiny sparks of electricity to snap against my fingertips every time I touched my hair.

I looked forward to the Santa Anas each summer because they cleared every trace of smog from the vast L.A. basin and left the air sparkling. But that day they were weeks early and their intensity increased a sense of foreboding I’d awakened with.

I squeezed my hands together and glanced at the woman sitting next to me, for she was the true reason for my uneasiness.

My best friend and I should have been relaxed and chatty, but we hadn’t been either lately. Roxanne had recently broken up with the guy she’d been seeing for years, and her mood alarmed me. She had barely said a word at the front door when she picked me up, and nothing at all since we’d been in the car.

Slowly I turned my head from side to side, trying to ease the knot of anxiety in my neck. I reached up to massage my shoulder but the seatbelt held me snugly, so I undid it.

The lock made a sharp click as it released.

“What’s wrong?” Roxanne asked.

“Nothing.” I spoke quietly. “Just a kink. I must have slept weird.”

She frowned and shifted gears and the road rose higher in front of us…

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Emelle Gamble was a writer at an early age, bursting with the requisite childhood stories of introspection which evolved into bad teen poetry and took her first stab at full length fiction in an adult education writing class when her kids were in bed. As M.L. Gamble, she published several romantic suspense novels with Harlequin. She has contracted with Soul Mate Publishing for Secret Sister, summer of 2013, and Dating Cary Grant, an early 2014 release.

Always intrigued by the words ‘what if’, Emelle’s books feature an ordinary woman confronted with an extraordinary situation.  She most enjoys reading stories that surprise and amaze her, and hopes her readers will enjoy the challenging and exciting journeys her characters take. 

Emelle lives in suburban Washington D.C.  with her husband, Phil, her hero of thirty years,  and two orange cats, Lucy and Bella. These girls, like all good villains, have their reasons for misbehaving. Her daughter, Olivia, and son, Allen, are happily launched on their own and contributing great things to society, their mother’s fondest wish.

                            Emelle Gamble’s New Year’s Eve ever!    

Christmas holidays are always the stuff of memories. Family gets together, people get engaged, a lot of fun is had with friends at parties and dinners and exchanging gifts. That’s not to say that these holidays are always fun. I know many times the stresses on relationships and unresolved family issues often color the holidays a bit blue. People lost to us are forever missed at the holidays, as our opportunities to express ourselves in a positive and forgiving way.

That’s why  I’m writing about New Year’s Eve! I don’t think I’ve really had a bad one, save the one when I was fifteen and in bed with the “Hong Kong Flu”…and I missed out going to a Johnny Mathis concert with my boyfriend. (Yes, I know this is dating me.)

But for the most part New Year’s Eves have been wonderful. I’ve been optimistic about a new year coming, all those resolutions are swirling around in my head that I really intend to implement. I get to drink, sleep in, watch TV all day over the New Year’s Eve – New Year’s holiday, so it’s all good. My favorite one was twenty-nine years ago in 1984, for that’s when I brought my baby boy home from the hospital. Allen Patrick was a Christmas Day baby, big and hearty and beautiful, but because I had a bit of a struggle with his delivery, we came home after mama’s recuperation.

When we arrived at our little Spanish bungalow in Alta Dena, California, the  house was straightened up and warm and still full of Christmas cheer; food was stuffed into the refrigerator for a week of ‘just warm it up and serve’,  thanks to my in-laws and friends. My son’s sister, Olivia Rose, just two years old, was even happy to welcome us, even though we’d run out on her at 6 a.m. Christmas morning! 

So Happy New Year’s Eve everyone!!! Please share with the blog what your favorite New Year’s Eve was? Or, maybe it will be this one! Peace, happiness and health to you all!

Email: emellegamble@aol.com

Website:  www.EmelleGamble.com

FaceBook:  Author Emelle Gamble

Twitter: @EmelleGamble

Buy Links will come as soon as they’re available.

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