Thursday, September 25, 2014

What if? Ash Harper Weighs in....

WHAT IF?

I'm picking up the ball where Patti Fiala left off with her 'What if', from her book Dog Days of Summer and I'm going to give you a' What if' from the perspective of Ash Harper, the sexy, handsome widower from my Out of the Box series.....

 

What if I hadn't gone to the airport that day?

Quite simply, the world stood still the moment I first laid eyes on Olivia Petersen. It was evident by the way she looked at me when I held up a sign with her name on it at the airport. She smiled, set her bag down and shook my hand as I introduced myself. A spark ignited feelings I haven't felt in such a long time and it was like I was resuscitated back to life. Her hair is brown and her eyes are the most amazing shade of green. I'm in awe of her beauty.

I'm Ash Harper - a widower and I live in Highland Park, Il.  Before I met my soul mate Olivia, I was living my life status quo. I lost my wife Anne to cancer 5 years ago and since her death I've been in survival mode. I fully immersed myself into my work to mask my loneliness. I've tried dating but no woman has come remotely close to garnering my interest.

I have more money than I could possibly need - I've got an airplane, 2 homes, 2 cars and by all accounts I should be happy, but I wasn't - until I met Olivia, that is.

What if Olivia's husband didn't get transferred and move to Highland Park? I'd never have met my beautiful Sunshine.

And if her husband didn't cheat on her and leave their marriage, would she and I be together right now? Probably not.

When she was in the depths of despair the night Alan left her, I was there to rescue her.  Did I take all the hurt away? Absolutely not. But I was there for her and on that evening we built our relationship. Fate brought us together in the worst of circumstances. Would I wish that on anyone? Not on your life. Infidelity is a horrible thing and the pain it caused Olivia made me feel so helpless.

I believe in love at first sight. It happened to my parents and I truly believe in it. I love Olivia with every breath in my body and I want to love and take care of her for the rest of my life. I love spoiling her and spending money on her....finally I've a got reason to live!

So many what ifs race through my mind and it frightens me to think 'what if I didn't meet Olivia Petersen?' I've found my soul mate, the love of my life and I'm going to take the ball and run with it.

Life gave me a second chance. I'm going to embrace it like there's no tomorrow.....

 

OUT OF THE BOX SERIES:

 

http://mybook.to/OutoftheBoxAwakening

 

http://mybook.to/OutoftheBoxRegifted

 

 

WHAT IF....a New Perspective, a New POV (by Patti J. Fiala)

What If?

I am very blessed to be connected to some very talented, amazing authors. We have decided to start a blog series named “What If”. Our “What If” series will feature each of us, discussing, “what if” from the character’s point of view from one of our stories. Today, my “What If” is from Jeremiah’s point of view from Dog Days of Summer.

What If, from Jeremiah (Dog) Sheppard.

When I was asked to write my “What If” I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it. First of all, I’m not a writer, I’m a bike builder. Second of all, when I think of what if, it turns my blood cold, because, my what if, is What if I had never met Joci?

The second my eyes landed on Joci, my world stood still. She walked into our meeting room at Rolling Thunder and I lost myself. I felt like time stood still as I stared into her beautiful stormy gray eyes and then, she smiled, and I was completely head over heels in love with her. My pulse was racing, my heart hammered so thunderously in my chest that I thought I was going to pass out. Never in my forty-five years on this earth did one person so captivate me as she did.

I asked her out, and she said she couldn’t. I went home so dejected and confused. How could I change her mind? I didn’t know what “I can’t” meant. How could I overcome that? The only saving grace was that I knew I would see her again because she was helping us organize the next Veteran’s Ride for the shop and she was designing a logo for Rolling Thunder.

I asked Joci out four times before she finally said yes. Actually, the last time I decided to throw my cards on the table and I told her we were going out, period, end of story.

So my, what if’s are many. What if Joci would not have walked into my shop? What if I wouldn’t have told Joci we were going to be together? What if she would have said No? It’s devastating for me to think about because our life together is so full and rich. I can’t imagine not having her in my life.

 

ABOUT PJ Fiala:Pinterest92414.jpg Patti Fiala DogDays_FNL 2

I was born in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri named Bridgeton. During my time in Missouri, I explored the Ozarks, swam in the Mississippi River, and played kickball and endless games of hide and seek with the neighborhood kids. Spending summers in Kentucky with my grandmother, Ruth, are the fondest childhood memories for me.

At the age of thirteen, my family moved to Wisconsin to learn to farm. Yes, learn to farm! That was interesting. Taking city kids and throwing them on a farm with twenty-eight cows purchased from the humane society because they had been abused was interesting. I learned to milk cows, the ins and outs of breeding and feeding schedules, the never ending haying in the summer, and trying to stay warm in the winter. Our first winter in Wisconsin we had thirty-six inches of snow in one storm and were snowed in our house for three days! Needless to say, I wasn’t loving Wisconsin.

I am now married with four children and three grandchildren. I have learned to love Wisconsin, though I still hate snow. Wisconsin and the United States are beautiful, and my husband and I travel around by motorcycle seeing new sites and meeting new people. It never ceases to amaze me how many people are interested in where we are going and what we have seen along the way. At every gas station, restaurant, and hotel, we have people come up to us and ask us about what we are doing as well as offer advice on which roads in the area are better than others.

I come from a family of veterans. My grandfather, father, brother, two of my sons, and one daughter-in-law are all veterans. Needless to say, I am proud. Proud to be an American and proud of the service my amazing family has given.

Website:

https://www.pjfiala.com

 

You Tube

http://goo.gl/3F2keF

 

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/pjfiala1

 

Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/pfiala

 

Pinterest:

http://www.pinterest.com/pattifiala/dog-days-of-summer/

 

Authorgraph:

https://www.authorgraph.com/authors/pfiala

 

Authorsdb:

http://authorsdb.com/authors-directory/8914-pj-fiala

 

AuthorsdB – Book:

http://tinyurl.com/p8gmujz

 

AuthorsdB – Book Cover Contest:

http://authorsdb.com/books/2014-book-cover-contest/romance-2014/dog-days-of-summer

 

Thunderclap Campaign: Started September 12, 2014

http://thndr.it/1m0gvdM

 

Goodreads author:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7866768.P_J_Fiala

 

Goodreads Book:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21851827-dog-days-of-summer

 

Amazon Author Page:

http://tinyurl.com/mmcrnlb

 

RebelMouse:

https://www.rebelmouse.com/pjfiala/

 

Google+:

https://plus.google.com/+PJFiala/posts

 

Spotify:

www.spotify.com

 

Follow the links for the playlists for each book:

Second Chances - http://tinyurl.com/nuut3wn

Dog Days of Summer - http://tinyurl.com/qhld35l

Rydin the Storm Out - http://tinyurl.com/l8x8p84

LinkedIn:

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top

 

Amazon Listmania List:

http://www.amazon.com/lm/R36XEL1VZUDWU3/ref=cm_lm_pthnk_view?ie=UTF8&lm_bb=

 

Bookarma:

https://bookarma.net/book/9781595983251-dog-days-of-summer

 

Riffle:

https://read.rifflebooks.com/profiles/151221

 

Riffle-Dog Days:

https://read.rifflebooks.com/books/331300

 

 

Friday, September 19, 2014

What if ?

I'll be the first to admit that technology totally rules my life. I'm guilty....I sleep with my phone under my pillow, I wake up checking emails and texts, I FWD (Facebook while driving) and do various other technology related activities while on the road. I have about an hour commute in the evenings from work to home. I have time to think, check emails and I'll even admit that I do read when I'm stopped at lights. I'm addicted to technology!

As I was driving home from work today, I decided to put the phone in my purse out of sight and mind - okay just out of sight...and I got to thinking, "What if?" What if I hadn't agreed to go out on that first date with my husband 29 years ago? I definitely wouldn't be sitting in this same traffic, at this very light headed to the home I've lived in with my husband for the last 11 years. Where would I be now if I hadn't accepted his marriage proposal? Would I still be a single mom struggling to make ends meet with a plethora of credit card debt? Would I be driving a nice car? What would I even look like? And would I have met someone else and had that third child? Maybe, maybe not.

When I met my husband, I was a struggling single mom. I had two kids and life was hard. I totally enjoyed being single but I'll have to admit that the holidays and going to special events solo got old very FAST. I wanted someone in my life but I was too picky. Quite frankly, I wanted someone, but then again I didn't. Can anyone else relate to that? My kids and my job were my life and did I really want to let someone else into that protected coveted circle?

At age 31, I'd already gone through 2 - yes 2 divorces and I wasn't ready to jump into the marriage and commitment thing again. I loved my independence but on the other hand, I hated having to make all of the decisions and have everyone depend on ME. I hated having to live on only one income and the every day hassles of single life. Men take care of things - let's face it. They know what to do when you have car trouble. They know what to do when something breaks at the house. They know...well you get what I mean.

So when my husband proposed, I knew I loved him but was I ready to take the plunge again? Was he being truthful when he told me that my tenacity and independent spirit were two of the things that attracted him most to me or was that just a line of BS? I did some hard soul searching and actually made myself a list. I remember doing it. I took a piece of paper, drew a line straight down the middle and added headings: 'Pros/Cons'

I found that my column of pros far outweighed the cons and I took a hard serious look at my life. This man I fell in love with had never been married, had no kids but was more than happy to accept both of my kids as his own. I even told him about all my debt and he didn't bail.

29 years later, I have three wonderful kids (Hubby and I had one together). My kids are incredibly close and call each other "My brother" or "My sister". There is no 'step' in our family and I realize that my list of pros proved to be right. Is my husband perfect? No. Am I perfect? As much as I'd like to think so.... no, I'm not. We've built an incredible life together and our kids are testament to that. We also have 3 beautiful grandchildren. Our kids never got into trouble, they went to college, have good jobs and are productive members of society. They've found their soul mates.

My youngest son will marry his beautiful soulmate in November, the day after my 60th birthday and the circle will be complete.

My 'what if' conversation with myself on my way home today reassured me that I truly did make the right decision. I took the plunge and it paid off.  When life gives you a second chance, embrace it like there's no tomorrow! I did and it paid off.....

 

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Jennifer Theriot's new website!

Are you looking for a new book to read?




Are you looking for a book filled with Romance and a whole lot of Sexy?


olivia2





Handsome man posing






Well, you came to the right place!


 

 

OOBA-cover
oobreg-2014


OUT Of THE BOX series,


BY, Jennifer Theriot


 

What happens when the married woman and the sexy handsome widower are thrown together by fate?

The Out of the Box series is a story of shared passion and shared joy. Jennifer Theriot has written a compelling book about what happens when two people find new life and new love for themselves and for those around them.

Click on the titles in the menu to read more about the Out of The box series or click here to purchase it on Amazon.


Coming Soon!


cover


Check out what readers have to say about this great series...


 

"AMAZING !!! This book made my heart happy!!!"


"Lovely story of second chances at love and life."


"Loved it"



"Excellent, fun, touching, heartwarming romance!"


"Way to go Jennifer Theriot."



"Great!!"


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