Title Hearts on the Rocks
Author Terry Newman
Genre Paranormal Romcom
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb
Fake dating wasn’t part of Cagney Adler’s plan to earn her PhD before she’s thirty. But neither was a rash of blind dates. When fictional characters, Alex Zurich and Blake Teesdale, leap out of the romance novel she’s reading into her world, they’re determined Mr. Rock Nerd would not only make a great fake boyfriend, but her happily ever after. The only way to get them to leave her alone is to accept the offer. But she draws the line at happily ever after.
Brad Townsend, geology doctoral student, knows Cagney Adler is the perfect fake girlfriend to help him avoid blind dates. Sure, they have nothing in common, but that’s what makes her ideal. There’s no way they’ll fall in love.
But the pretend stuff begins to look real, with double dates to the movies, and apartment warming parties. And wait, Cagney’s apartment becomes unlivable…and they find themselves roommates.
And the fake relationship feels more real with every day.
Excerpt
The scene sucked her in. As she read the words, she clearly heard their voices. Blake’s voice had a deep tone, not quite a baritone, but sexy as hell with his British accent. Alex was soft-spoken, her words barely uttered above a whisper. She felt she had to lean in to hear her. But she spoke with a confidence that Cagney envied. It felt as if they were sitting across from her.
“You did hear my voice. Well, our voices.”
I know JJ’s a great writer, but now I’m imagining they’re talking to me.
“Are you just going to sit there and pretend we’re not here?” That British accent sounded like it should belong to Blake. She shook her head.
“Yoohoo! We’re over here.” A large hand thrust itself between her face and the book and waved.
“What the—?” She followed the arm and…
…found a couple sitting across from her. She quickly swung her legs to the ground and stared at them. Chills ran up her spine.
When did they get there? Who were they?
“That’s better.” The man massaged his hand and then shook it. “I wondered how long it was going to take you to see us.”
“W-w-what…”
Cagney had intended to ask a question, but her shock at seeing them—whoever “them” were—rendered her speechless.
“We tend to have that effect on people.” The woman had spoken to the man. She patted his arm. “Let’s not scare the poor woman any more than she is.”
“You’re right. We don’t want her fainting away like JJ did when we popped in on her.”
“JJ? You know JJ Spritely?” Cagney shivered at the sound of her advisor’s pen name.
The woman laughed softly. “Of course, we do. She created us.”
“I’m Blake Teesdale and this lovely lady to my left is Alex Zurich.”
Cagney surveyed the two. Then slowly shook her head. “You’re trying to pass yourselves off as the characters in this book?” It had dropped to the table when she bolted upright.
She picked it up and studied the cover. The images did look like the strangers. Wait. What am I even thinking? Those vague pictures could resemble any number of people. Probably more than a million.
“We’re not trying to do anything. We are those characters, Cagney.” The woman’s voice was calming, if a bit condescending. She nodded toward the book.
“Wait. How did you know my name?” She narrowed her eyes.
“Yeah, how do you know my name? Who put you up to this? It’s got to be Dr. St. Clair. Is this her idea of a joke?”
The man shook his head. His black wavy hair flew from side to side. Just like in the book. A gigantic coincidence. “You did.”
Cagney opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“You’ve been reading about us all weekend. Even today. You can’t deny it, because we caught you with the book in your hand.” He looked rather proud of this observation.
“And you even fell asleep the other night reading about our love story.” The woman, whose nearly black hair hung down her shoulders, sighed as she said the words slowly. She also fit the description of Alex in Love’s Surprise.
Cagney shook her head. The woman spoke the truth—somehow. She’d neglected her dissertation and immersed herself in a wonderful world where she knew there’d be a happily ever after. “I did. I just was…How would that even work?” She figured she knew enough about the laws of physics that fictional people just didn’t pop up into the real world.
“It’s difficult to explain how we get here. Heck, we really don’t know, exactly—”
The man’s hair bounced as he apparently weighed his words. Just like Blake’s hair did in the book. Oh, stop that.
“The last time we were here”—he waved a hand toward the woman sitting next to him—“I had discovered the concept, articulated by quite a few different writers, that the universe doesn’t know the difference between action based on thought alone, or what we call imagination, and action that’s based on facts.”
Cagney nodded. “Okay, so.” She strung out the last word.
This entire situation was no longer weird. It had taken a giant leap into the realm of the bizarre.
“Because as you fell asleep you were thinking about us. And the universe can’t tell the difference from—”
“Action based on our imaginations or on fact. Yeah, yeah. I caught that part.” She took a deep breath. “What you’re saying is that because I was involved in the book I was reading, your book, that is, and I fell asleep thinking about it, you popped into my life.”
“Exactly.” The man who claimed to be Blake nodded.
“I’ve fallen asleep before reading. I’ve fallen asleep reading about Warren G. Harding. And he didn’t pop into my life.”
“Of course not.” The alleged Alex laughed. “He’s dead.”
“True. But you two are fictional.”
The man who—What the hell, Cagney? Just call them by those names already. Blake nodded slowly as if he were in thought.
“That’s because we’re originally a creation of thought.” He glanced at Alex for confirmation.
“That’s brilliant. Of course, that makes sense.” Alex sighed.
It appeared the fictional couple had rested their case. However shaky that might have been.
“I’m still not buying it.” She sighed. She didn’t need this distraction. “Just leave, please. Now.”
“That’s it.” Blake leaped out of his seat. “That’s what we’ll do. We’ll leave.”
“Honey, that doesn’t help Cagney at all. We’re here on a mission, remember?”
“No, we’re taking Cagney with us.”
“You’ve gone too far. That’s called kidnapping, and as I recall it’s a federal offense.”
“You’re right, because of the Lindberg kidnapping.” Blake pointed at her. “Which is a sad situation. Charles and his wife left the country for several years, settling in the English countryside and then—”
“Blake.” Alex shook his shoulder.
“Oh, righto. Sorry about that.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hearts-on-the-rocks-terry-newman/1146196635?ean=9781509258567
Author Biography
Terry Newman, an award-winning author, writes romantic comedies with a paranormal twist.
She enjoys creating off-beat characters, each with their own quirks. She’s lived most of her life in northeast Ohio, where she sets all of her fictional towns.
Terry has been writing in some fashion most of her life , from small-town reporter to editor-in-chief and ghostwriter for a national natural health publishing firm. The last decade and half she’s worked a freelance writer, penning eBooks that range from Native Americans to starting a doula services business.
She has a daughter, a son-in-law, and a grandpuppy. Terry lives in North Lima, a real town in northeast Ohio with all of her characters. Yes, it does get crowded at times.
Social Media Links
Website
Facebook: Terry Newman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tnewmanwrites