BONUS CONTENT

KISSES ON A PAPER AIRPLANE

by

Sarah Vance-Tompkins

DELETED SCENE

NOTTING HILL

LONDON, ENGLAND

"Do you remember your first kiss?"

Hannah’s question stopped Julia dead in her tracks. “My first kiss? No.” Hells no. Deflecting the question with a flip of her wrist, she fell flat on her face.

It wasn’t her best friend’s question. Julia’s kitten heel was stuck in one of the rough cobblestones in the middle of the street. She stumbled forward as her foot came completely out of her shoe. Hannah quickly snatched up her shoe from the rough road, and with a firm hand beneath Julia’s elbow, helped her reach the sidewalk before the light changed and traffic surged all around them.

Hopping like a flamingo on the corner, Julia held onto Hannah’s arm for balance as she slipped her foot back into her perfect pink slipper. “I can’t remember.”

She turned her head in the direction of traffic, watching a double-decker bus speed past, so she could ignore the fact that Hannah was pressing her lips tightly together in silent judgement.

Why couldn’t Julia remember her first kiss? On more than one occasion she’d tried to remember. And once again she scoured the darkest cobweb-filled corners of her brain.

Nope. No memories. Nothing stood out.

Her first kiss had already happened quite a few years ago.

Obviously.

She had very little to go on about the date place or time, but she was certain it had to have taken place while she was at boarding school. Winter Formal? After field hockey practice?

Tarquin? Aiden? Arabella?

She’d crushed on them all. And it could’ve been any of them, but when she closed her eyes, she didn’t remember a particular face. No one had ever straight up asked Julia about her first kiss. She didn’t know it was something she should remember.

The truth was she’d been kissed many times. And none of the kisses had made her heart flutter the way Hannah thought a first kiss should. The last thing she wanted to admit to anyone, most especially her best friend. If she had known there was going to be a quiz about her kissing history later in life, if she had known she would’ve written some stuff down in her journal.

Her journals were filled with lists. Songs. Poems. Quotes. Things she wanted to do. Things she needed to do. Things she thought about doing, but knew she never would. Things she had done that she regretted.

"Do you remember how it made you feel?" Hannah prompted.

“Feel?” Not only was she supposed to remember the person, time and place of her first kiss, she supposed to have feelings about it too?

Julia had purposefully kept her journals free of her feelings. She was happy to keep her journals free of any talk of feelings for the rest of her life. Emotions were messy. They couldn’t be controlled. They just popped up like a jack in the box. At least not her emotions. They were not something Julia could anticipate. And they tended to make life messy. Julia didn’t like messy. She liked everything in her world to be neat and orderly.

###

YA Scavenger Hunt Spring 2020

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt!

This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! On this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive one book from each author on the hunt in my team! Due to the Corona Virus, this season we are offering E-Book or Audiobook downloads only as grand prizes.

Play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 120 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are FOUR contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the PURPLE TEAM--but there is also a red team, a gold team, and a blue team for a chance to win a whole different set of books!

If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the purple team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!). 

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by APRIL 5, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

Today, I am hosting J.C. WELKER on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt!

Her debut novel THE WISHING HEART won the YARWA Rosemary Award, Athena Award, and was a finalist for Best First Book. She continues to work towards giving aMultiple award winning author J.C. WELKER has been, among other things, a fashion designer, a graphic designer, a filmmaker, and occasionally a kickboxer (seriously). Her debut novel THE WISHING HEART won the YARWA Rosemary Award, Athena Award, and was a finalist for Best First Book. She continues to work towards giving a voice to diverse stories, while facing magic and monsters along the way.while facing magic and monsters along the way.

ABOUT THE BOOK

With a book in her bag and a switchblade in her pocket, Rebel's been thieving her way through life while hoping for a cure to fix her ailing heart.

But when the bejeweled vase she just tried to hawk turns out to be a jinni's vessel, Rebel gets lost to her world and dragged within another. Now every magical being in the city wants the vase for himself.

Thrust into a game of cat and mouse in a world she never knew existed, Rebel must use her uncanny skills to find a way to free Anjeline, the Wishmaker. But wishes have consequences. And contracts. Anjeline's freedom could unravel a love like Rebel has never known, or it could come at the cost of Rebel's heart...

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT FOR YOU FROM J.C. WELKER:

THE WISHING HEART - INSPIRATION BOARD

Find out more by checking out J.C. WELKER’s website. And find more information and how to buy THE WISHING HEART here!

Don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win books by me, J.C. Welker, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 21. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the purple team and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author! Go visit Melanie Gilbert here.

The Smallest of Things

My spring was pretty awful.

Our elderly cat developed a life-threatening heart condition in March. So I had to make arrangements with our cat sitter to have a slumber party with our cats while I went to a writers' conference in Massachusetts. Thinking Joey was well situated and I had nothing else to worry about for three days, I enjoyed the company of dear friends while learning all new things. Despite being a severe introvert, being at writing conferences always gives my inner word nerd great joy. Then on Saturday night, my husband called to say he wouldn't be coming to pick me up because his mom was in intensive care at a hospital in Rhode Island. An hour later my mom called to say she was in an emergency room in Michigan. So after a brief chat with our cat sitter to be sure she could spend a couple extra nights with the cats, and a morning visit to my mother-in-law in the hospital, I hopped a plane to northern Michigan. I had no idea it would be another month before my mom was well enough for me to fly home. 

While I was dealing with so much. And I felt so alone. I hadn't been separated from my husband for so long since we first met. And it's a well known fact, that family dysfunction always rears its ugly when there's a medical emergency. Which never helps. As if.  I became increasingly aware as I went through my daily routine of checking of items on my ever-increasing TO DO list, that the smallest and simplest things could bring me great joy. Taking the dog for a walk. Watching the cherry orchards turn white with spring blooms. Dipping my toes into a chilly Lake Michigan. Greeting the Post Master every morning when I went to pick up the mail in the small town where my mom lives. These small pleasures gave me so much joy. I realized when I returned home that I needed to continue to stop and enjoy the simplest moments. Watering the garden. Reading a book. Saying hello to my favorite check-out person at the grocery store.

A smile. A wink. A wave.

It's the smallest things in the world that matter.

Please Don't Talk To The Writer

The writing life has one or two side effects I didn't expect. Most are very positive. I'm happy and creative. There is one negative side effect I'm not sure how to deal with effectively.

My husband works in the music industry. Now and then he asks me to go with him to an evening event. This has worked in my favor more than once. I've been able to see performers who've gone on to become huge acts while they were on their way up. And I got to meet my crush Ed Sheeran. And if you ever had some time, let me tell you about the time I made eye contact across the room with Justin Timberlake. Honestly, I'm still tingling. 

It also means that I have to talk to people. Real people. Not fictional. It's a skill that I use less and less the more I write. And I seem to be getting more and more out of practice. 

The other night we were waiting in the Green Room for a well-known rapper to come backstage and do what's called a 'meet and greet.' The door opened and his loquacious Brit manager walked in and bowed to me --- I curtsied and away we went. Or away I went. Turns out the guy had met the Queen. Elizabeth II on more than one occasion -- and so I didn't let him talk to anyone else in the room as I dazzled him with my obsession with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's upcoming nuptials. He was most kind. And I was a bit out of my mind. It's almost as if my words belonged to someone else. 

When he walked away, I looked at the stranger next to me and said, "Please make me stop talking. I'm an introvert. I'm not used to socializing and I obviously don't understand how this works anymore." 

Fortunately, I was standing next to other kindest man in the world. He laughed and said he understood. My cheeks were crimson with shame for the rest of the time we were in the green room. So that's nice.  

I hope that my embarrassment will make me start working harder at putting words on the page. And stop talking. Just stop. 

My Favorite Reads Of The Year

I read a lot. Seriously. A LOT. I'm not shouting, I'm just using ALL CAPS for emphasis.  I get recommendations of what I should read from a lot of different sources on the internet. As a romance writer, the books I hear about are usually in the genre or subgenre -- but the truth is I like to play the field when it comes to books. I read a lot of this, and even more of that. Oh, and I didn't even know I had a thing for that over there..but now I do.. There is nothing special about me that should my reading recommendations be of particular interest to anyone other than me. But just in case you're in search of a book to add to your ever-growing 'TBR' pile, here are the books that kept me flipping pages over the past twelve months. Enjoy  xo. SVT

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Genre: Young Adult

From the first sentence I was immediately aware that I was in the hands of a gifted storyteller, but this book wasn't the kind where you have enough time to pause and be jealous of the skills of the writer. It's all you can do grab a breath before being swept into the story. The main character's voice is so distinctive and clear. I had to remind myself I was reading fiction and not a news story in the Washington Post. I know this book is being marketed in the YA genre, but I honestly believe this book should be mandatory reading for every adult registered to vote in the United States.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Genre: Contemporary Romance

This book was published in 2016, but I read it at least a half dozen times in 2017. It's the book I'd like to crawl inside the pages and live in. 'Enemies to Lovers' is my favorite romance trope and this book in no way disappoints. There is a bit of 'Fake Engagement' and 'Office Romance' trope in this book as well -- as the main characters pose and boyfriend and girlfriend at his brother's wedding. This book has something for everyone. Written in first person in Lucy Heaton's point of view only -- I didn't care that I didn't get to know what Joshua Templeman was thinking. I swooned for his tall, dark and handsome self any way. It was also the first book I'd read in a very long time I wished was illustrated.

The Opposite Of You by Rachel Higginson

Genre: Contemporary Romance

After I finished The Hating Game and I'd re-read six more times, I found myself in search of another good 'Enemies to Lovers' trope, and this one was recommended on Twitter. (A place I seek out many recommendations of what to read next.) A contemporary romance between a female chef running a food truck and a male chef running a five-star restaurant, this book did not disappoint. By the time the two main characters finally get some nooky, I was absolutely panting for it. I suppose it's almost too on the nose to say -- but I can't help calling this book absolutely delicious.

The Idea of You by Robinne Lee 

Genre: Fiction

I loved this May-December celebrity romance between the mom of a tween with a crush, and the member of a British boy band. (My inner thirteen year old believes Harry Styles is super dreamy.) The story frankly turns many stereotypes on its head and that's the reason why I was able to forgive the fact that it isn't a romance in its purest form. It is a wonderful escape and since it features a woman over 35 as the object of attraction, it should be gobbled up by anyone seeking a romance featuring a more mature woman in the lead role.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Genre: Lit Fic

Okay. I know I'm going all highbrow with this one, but as a regular genre reader who occasionally finds lit fic difficult to immediately engage with from the first page, I can tell you this book was accessible from the first word. The quirky main character reminded me of The Rosie Project -- but I have to say that I found myself identifying with her social miscues constantly. Not a lightweight book or topic -- but very satisfying nonetheless.

The Gentleman's Guide To Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Genre: Queer YA Historical

This is the book I didn't know I wanted to read until I was five pages in and couldn't put it down. The storyteller's voice is infectious and the writing style is a delight. if you hear editors talk about 'voice' and wonder what they could possibly mean -- read this! You'll get it immediately.  I love the fact that you constantly think you're seeing more behind the bedroom curtain than you ever actually do. It's a very sexy book -- and yet -- it's perfectly clean -- until it's not. I adored the way the book was divided by the countries visited during a 'grand tour' of the continent. I also loved the fact that the main character was naughty -- it made all the escapades even more fun.

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

Genre: Lit Fiction

Did you watch Big Little Lies? Are you still in search of something just as dark to sink your teeth into? Then read this! I've been a big fan of Megan Abbott since her debut novel, a period story set in 1940s Los Angeles, so when I saw this book in paperback at my local Barnes & Noble I swept it up into my 'to purchase' pile which is why another book published in 2016 made my list.  As a former competitive figure skater, this book, set in the world of competitive gymnastics, totally hit the mark for me. It's totally dark and disturbing -- and I enjoyed every moment.