New Adult
Date to be Published: March 19, 2013
Book Blurb:
Brooke
Wright has only two goals her senior year at Charity Run High School:
stay out of trouble and learn to forgive herself for the past.
Forgiveness proves elusive, and trouble finds her anyway when she
discovers a secret club at school connected to the death of her best
friend. She learns that swim team members participate in a “Fantasy Slut
League,” scoring points for their sexual acts with unsuspecting girls.
Brooke,
wracked with guilt over her friend’s death, decides to infiltrate the
league by becoming one of the “unsuspecting girls,” and exact revenge on
the boys who stole away her best friend. An unexpected romance
complicates her plans, and her dogged pursuit of justice turns her
reckless as she underestimates just how far the boys will go to keep
their sex club a secret.
(This is a New Adult fiction book with mature themes. It contains explicit language and descriptions of sexual violence.)
Excerpt:
I
left the bathroom in a hurry, turning the corner for the foyer and slamming
into him. The force of the hit was so great that I stumbled backwards, nearly
falling on my bottom if not for his outstretched hand. I grabbed it before
going down and wobbled on my too-high heels, clutching him as I worked to
regain my balance.
“God,
I’m sorry!” he exclaimed.
I
looked at his face then, unprepared to see something so beautiful. I think I
gasped. And then I averted my eyes out of sheer embarrassment.
“I
really should watch where I’m going,” he said.
He
still held my hand, and I let him. I couldn’t remember who I was or where I was
going. I couldn’t remember where I had just been. I only knew that a very cute
boy . . . no, he was more than cute. He was gorgeous. This very gorgeous boy
was holding my hand, and I had only one thought. I wanted to make our
handholding more intimate. I wanted to lace my fingers with his.
“I
think I should,” I mumbled.
I
chanced another look at him. I made a conscientious effort not to gasp as I
took in his light blue eyes. I’d never seen eyes that color. Jared Leto had
nothing on this guy’s eyes, and Jared’s eyes were the color of the
Mediterranean. No, the eyes I looked into now were so light blue they looked
translucent. I thought if I stared a little longer I could see right inside his
head, to his brain, and I don’t know why that turned me on so much. I wanted to
witness the workings of his mind, the firing synapses, information traveling
safely inside neurons to different parts of his body. A few made it to his
hand, and they must have told him to keep holding mine because he didn’t let
go.
I
stared shamelessly, licking my lips at one point. He stared back just as
boldly. I wanted him to like what he saw. I wanted him to think I was sexy. I
wanted him to feel the same instant attraction I did. I’d never felt it before.
Not really. Not even with Finn. It was unsettling, and I wondered how people
functioned after being smacked upside the head with it. Instant. Physical.
Chemical.
Primal.
Just rip my clothes off, I thought. Just rip my clothes off and do me right here in the hallway!
He
smiled and released my hand. I thought he did it reluctantly, like his brain
ordered him to and he finally acquiesced. I smiled back, a flirty grin. I
pulled my ponytail forward over my shoulder and played with the strands. I bit
my lower lip. And then reality came crashing down like a hailstorm, large lumps
of ice banging my head and screaming at me in unison.
“YOU’RE AT A FUNERAL!”
I
looked at the gorgeous guy, and my face went white.
“Oh
my God,” I whispered.
He
stared at me for a moment before saying, “Are you okay?”
I
shook my head and started towards the sanctuary doors. He followed behind.
“I’m
awful, I’m awful, I’m awful,” I whispered over and over. I didn’t care if he
could hear.
What
the hell was I doing? Trying to flirt with a guy at my best friend’s funeral?
How could I even forget for a second that I was at a funeral? I was supposed to
be carrying around heavy, black sorrow to match my black dress and black heart,
not batting lashes and fantasizing about sex with a stranger. Was I so ridiculous
that a hot guy could make me forget to have any kind of decency? Or shame?
I
rounded the corner and saw my mother waiting for me. And then I ran to her,
threw myself into her arms, and burst into a fit of tears.
“Brooklyn,”
she whispered, holding me in a tight hug. “It’s okay,” she cooed as she stroked
my hair.
“I’m
a terrible friend!” I wailed. I saw the fuzzy outline of a boy walking past us
tentatively through the doors.
“No,
you aren’t,” my mother replied.
“Yes,
I am! I don’t even know why I’m here! Beth hated my guts! She wouldn’t talk to
me all summer!”
“Brooke,”
Mom said. “I want you to calm down. Now, we talked about this. You knew it
would be hard, but she was your best friend for all those years. Do you think
she wouldn’t have wanted you here?”
“No,
I don’t!” I cried.
“Yes,
she would,” Mom said. “Now we have to go in.”
“I
can’t!”
“Brooke,
Beth was your best friend,” Mom said, trying for patience.
“No
she wasn’t! Not after what I did! I ruined everything! I’m a freaking slut!” I
sobbed, shaking my head from side to side.
“Sweetheart,
don’t say words like ‘freaking’ and ‘slut’ in a church,” Mom replied.
I
only sobbed louder.
“You
can do this,” Mom encouraged.
I
stood my ground, shaking my head violently, refusing to go in.
“Brooklyn
Wright!” Mom hissed, pushing me away and grabbing my upper arm. She squeezed
too tightly, and I squeaked in discomfort. There was no more tenderness in her
voice. “Get yourself together. This isn’t about you. So stop making it about
you. You’re going into that sanctuary and you’re going to pay your respects to
your friend, and you’re going to make it about Beth. Do you understand me?”
I
swallowed hard and wiped my face.
“Do
you understand me?” Mom repeated.
I
nodded grudgingly, and she took my hand, leading me through the doors.
Author Information:
S. Walden used to teach English before making the best decision of her life by becoming a
full-time writer. She lives in Georgia with her very supportive husband who prefers physics
textbooks over fiction and has a difficult time understanding why her characters must have
personality flaws. She is wary of small children, so she has a Westie instead. Her dreams
include raising chickens and owning and operating a beachside inn on the Gulf Coast (chickens
included). When she's not writing, she's thinking about it.
She loves her fans and loves to hear from them. Email her at swaldenauthor@hotmail.com and
follow her blog at http://swaldenauthor.blogspot.com where you can get up-to-date information
on her current projects.
Contact Information:
twitter: swaldenauthor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/swaldenauthor
Buy Links:
Amazon:
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/
Createspace (paperback):
https://www.createspace.com/
Brooke
Wright has only two goals her senior year at Charity Run High School:
stay out of trouble and learn to forgive herself for the past.
Forgiveness proves elusive, and trouble finds her anyway when she
discovers a secret club at school connected to the death of her best
friend. She learns that swim team members participate in a “Fantasy Slut
League,” scoring points for their sexual acts with unsuspecting girls.
Brooke,
wracked with guilt over her friend’s death, decides to infiltrate the
league by becoming one of the “unsuspecting girls,” and exact revenge on
the boys who stole away her best friend. An unexpected romance
complicates her plans, and her dogged pursuit of justice turns her
reckless as she underestimates just how far the boys will go to keep
their sex club a secret.
(This is a New Adult fiction book with mature themes. It contains explicit language and descriptions of sexual violence.)
Excerpt:
Excerpt:
I
left the bathroom in a hurry, turning the corner for the foyer and slamming
into him. The force of the hit was so great that I stumbled backwards, nearly
falling on my bottom if not for his outstretched hand. I grabbed it before
going down and wobbled on my too-high heels, clutching him as I worked to
regain my balance.
“God,
I’m sorry!” he exclaimed.
I
looked at his face then, unprepared to see something so beautiful. I think I
gasped. And then I averted my eyes out of sheer embarrassment.
“I
really should watch where I’m going,” he said.
He
still held my hand, and I let him. I couldn’t remember who I was or where I was
going. I couldn’t remember where I had just been. I only knew that a very cute
boy . . . no, he was more than cute. He was gorgeous. This very gorgeous boy
was holding my hand, and I had only one thought. I wanted to make our
handholding more intimate. I wanted to lace my fingers with his.
“I
think I should,” I mumbled.
I
chanced another look at him. I made a conscientious effort not to gasp as I
took in his light blue eyes. I’d never seen eyes that color. Jared Leto had
nothing on this guy’s eyes, and Jared’s eyes were the color of the
Mediterranean. No, the eyes I looked into now were so light blue they looked
translucent. I thought if I stared a little longer I could see right inside his
head, to his brain, and I don’t know why that turned me on so much. I wanted to
witness the workings of his mind, the firing synapses, information traveling
safely inside neurons to different parts of his body. A few made it to his
hand, and they must have told him to keep holding mine because he didn’t let
go.
I
stared shamelessly, licking my lips at one point. He stared back just as
boldly. I wanted him to like what he saw. I wanted him to think I was sexy. I
wanted him to feel the same instant attraction I did. I’d never felt it before.
Not really. Not even with Finn. It was unsettling, and I wondered how people
functioned after being smacked upside the head with it. Instant. Physical.
Chemical.
Primal.
Just rip my clothes off, I thought. Just rip my clothes off and do me right here in the hallway!
He
smiled and released my hand. I thought he did it reluctantly, like his brain
ordered him to and he finally acquiesced. I smiled back, a flirty grin. I
pulled my ponytail forward over my shoulder and played with the strands. I bit
my lower lip. And then reality came crashing down like a hailstorm, large lumps
of ice banging my head and screaming at me in unison.
“YOU’RE AT A FUNERAL!”
I
looked at the gorgeous guy, and my face went white.
“Oh
my God,” I whispered.
He
stared at me for a moment before saying, “Are you okay?”
I
shook my head and started towards the sanctuary doors. He followed behind.
“I’m
awful, I’m awful, I’m awful,” I whispered over and over. I didn’t care if he
could hear.
What
the hell was I doing? Trying to flirt with a guy at my best friend’s funeral?
How could I even forget for a second that I was at a funeral? I was supposed to
be carrying around heavy, black sorrow to match my black dress and black heart,
not batting lashes and fantasizing about sex with a stranger. Was I so ridiculous
that a hot guy could make me forget to have any kind of decency? Or shame?
I
rounded the corner and saw my mother waiting for me. And then I ran to her,
threw myself into her arms, and burst into a fit of tears.
“Brooklyn,”
she whispered, holding me in a tight hug. “It’s okay,” she cooed as she stroked
my hair.
“I’m
a terrible friend!” I wailed. I saw the fuzzy outline of a boy walking past us
tentatively through the doors.
“No,
you aren’t,” my mother replied.
“Yes,
I am! I don’t even know why I’m here! Beth hated my guts! She wouldn’t talk to
me all summer!”
“Brooke,”
Mom said. “I want you to calm down. Now, we talked about this. You knew it
would be hard, but she was your best friend for all those years. Do you think
she wouldn’t have wanted you here?”
“No,
I don’t!” I cried.
“Yes,
she would,” Mom said. “Now we have to go in.”
“I
can’t!”
“Brooke,
Beth was your best friend,” Mom said, trying for patience.
“No
she wasn’t! Not after what I did! I ruined everything! I’m a freaking slut!” I
sobbed, shaking my head from side to side.
“Sweetheart,
don’t say words like ‘freaking’ and ‘slut’ in a church,” Mom replied.
I
only sobbed louder.
“You
can do this,” Mom encouraged.
I
stood my ground, shaking my head violently, refusing to go in.
“Brooklyn
Wright!” Mom hissed, pushing me away and grabbing my upper arm. She squeezed
too tightly, and I squeaked in discomfort. There was no more tenderness in her
voice. “Get yourself together. This isn’t about you. So stop making it about
you. You’re going into that sanctuary and you’re going to pay your respects to
your friend, and you’re going to make it about Beth. Do you understand me?”
I
swallowed hard and wiped my face.
“Do
you understand me?” Mom repeated.
I
nodded grudgingly, and she took my hand, leading me through the doors.
Author Information:
S. Walden used to teach English before making the best decision of her life by becoming a
full-time writer. She lives in Georgia with her very supportive husband who prefers physics
textbooks over fiction and has a difficult time understanding why her characters must have
personality flaws. She is wary of small children, so she has a Westie instead. Her dreams
include raising chickens and owning and operating a beachside inn on the Gulf Coast (chickens
included). When she's not writing, she's thinking about it.
She loves her fans and loves to hear from them. Email her at swaldenauthor@hotmail.com and
follow her blog at http://swaldenauthor.blogspot.com where you can get up-to-date information
on her current projects.
Contact Information:
twitter: swaldenauthor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/swaldenauthor
Buy Links:
Amazon:
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/
Createspace (paperback):
https://www.createspace.com/
Amazon:
Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/
Createspace (paperback):
https://www.createspace.com/
Hey Girls! Thank you for helping me promote Going Under. Very cool blog, by the way :)
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