Ogitchida Kwe's Book Blog : ABSINTHE Doesn't Make The Heart Grow Fonder Excerpt, Blog Tour/Giveaway!

Friday, March 13, 2015

ABSINTHE Doesn't Make The Heart Grow Fonder Excerpt, Blog Tour/Giveaway!

What would you do for your friends?

What could be more fun than celebrating your fortieth with your three BFF's?

Josie sets off with Lana, Poppy and Meredith for an evening celebrating her birthday with the best intentions. Dinner, dancing and a little drinking.

A little more drinking, in a few questionable locations. It's good to catch up with the girls. But then...

Josie realizes her husband isn’t cheating on her, but Poppy won’t talk about the fact that her husband is. Lana won’t talk about her ex, Ted and Meredith is trying to hide something.

The secrets start to come out.

And then something bad happens.

Secrets can really ruin a friendship.

How far would you go for a friend?

“You’ve got something there,” I told Lana, pointing to where she had something stuck between her teeth. We stood outside the door of Thrice restaurant, waiting for Poppy and Meredith to show up, or at least for the throng inside the door to move to allow us to get in out of the cold.

Lana worked the seed with her tongue. “Got it?”

“No, still there.” The height difference between Lana and I was so extreme if I stood on my tiptoes, I was still only thisclose to being eye level with her mouth. Not that I often felt the need to examine her mouth but it would be nice not to continually have to crane my neck to speak to her, or dislodge foreign objects from her teeth. We were both to blame; Lana was a tall, big-boned woman and I was vertically challenged.

“Get it for me,” Lana urged, thrusting her chin down. With a flick of my nail, I extracted the tiny black seed and showed it to her. “Thanks.” With a glance over my shoulder, her usual cheerful expression darkened. “Shit, I can’t believe she brought him!”

I glanced behind me. Poppy was walking towards us with what might have been an attempt to smile, but came across as more of an awkward grimace. From the outside, Poppy and Kent Carter were the true definition of a golden couple – happy, wealthy and beautiful. On the inside, things were very different.

“He’s not staying,” I hissed, through my own forced smile.

“I can’t talk to him. Or her. I have no idea what to say to her,” Lana confessed.

“Just act like nothing’s wrong.” I spun to greet them and hoped my smile could pass for genuine. “You made it!” To cover the strained gaiety, I hugged Poppy but then after a brief pause, I had to hug Kent as well.

“Happy birthday,” Kent said.

“You’re not allowed,” Lana said, her rude tone offset by a playfully pointed finger at Kent. “Girls only.”

“You won’t let me play with you for even a little bit?” Kent wheedled, the only man I knew who could make whining sound attractive. “I’ll sit quietly. I’ll be good.”

He ignored the couple walking by, even with their obvious attempts to get his attention. “That’s Kent Carter,” the woman said excitedly. “From Dragon’s Lair. I bet that’s his wife.”

“Who knows?” the man replied. “He’s got women all over the place.” I thought for a moment he was going to push through us to fist-bump Kent with a gesture of male approval and the admiration in his voice brought a pained expression to Poppy’s face.

I took her arm to move her closer to me, with her back to the street. “Sorry, Kent. My birthday – my girls. I said no to Duncan and I’m saying no to you. Just Poppy tonight. And Lana and Meredith, of course.”

Holly Kerr writes contemporary women's fiction/chick-lit/romance and doesn't particularly enjoy talking about herself in third person.

Her books include Coming Home, Unexpecting and Absinthe Doesn't Make the Heart Grow Fonder. She lives in Toronto with her husband and three kids. She doesn't consider herself a typical chick-lit writer since loves everything about Star Wars, Harry Potter, Joss Whedon and has a thing for superheroes; however a story about falling for a superhero might be interesting for her to write. When she's not writing, she likes to play in the dirt in her garden and enjoy a glass of wine while cooking, although she's trying to cut back while she's training for a marathon.

If you require more information about Holly and her books feel free to visit her website or follow her Blog. At times she discusses the craft of writing but usually she muses about her life and what's she reading, writing or watching. Holly hopes you enjoy her books and she welcomes a chance to interact with her readers, but not in any creepy way. A simple comment "Hey, I really like/don't like..." would be a lovely way to begin a conversation.