Parallax
by Dixie Jackson
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GENRE: Romance Suspense
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BLURB:
Six years later, Trent Wayland still isn’t over his spring fling. Probably because he was convinced when he married Captain Leila O’Neil, their fling would go on a lifetime. Leila is his soul mate and Trent knows it. He might not admit it on a regular basis, but that doesn’t negate the raw emotion she draws out of him each and every time he thinks about her. Forget the fact his heart splits in two all over again when he’s afforded the luxury of hearing her voice. That doesn’t happen often, however. Leila only tosses a handful of words his way when she initiates the weekly video calls he’s allowed with the other love of his life, their daughter Lucy.
Once upon a time, Leila O’Neil wanted to be a Marine when she grew up. She worked hard, she landed a seat at the Academy, and she was the head of her class. Then her dream was destroyed and she traded it in for a new one at the nearest Coterie portal. She wears so many faces and so many hats, at some point she lost track of her soul. That didn’t really bother her until Trent Wayland came along and almost peeled her dressing room curtain back nearly exposing her innermost person. The real person, the real Leila, who once upon a time wanted to be a Marine when she grew up.
Leila misses the real person, and realizes it at the worst possible moment. With her daughter’s life on the line and Trent on the scene of the crime, Leila figures out she’s been using her hurt and anger to fuel all the wrong goals. In a daring move, she puts it all on the line, hoping it’s enough to gain her freedom from her handlers and her husband’s forgiveness.
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EXCERPT:
“Can this wait?” she asked, clearing her throat and speaking in a much lower, calmer voice than she felt like using on him at the moment. “I need to compartmentalize everything that’s coming at me all at once so I can process it in some sort of orderly fashion and manage to not get us killed before we get the chance to talk about what may or may not be going on between us.”
“Do you have a label for that box?” Trent drilled, glaring at her.
“Which one?” She tapped her fingernails against the table and pursed her lips, trying to stay the wellspring of anger bubbling up at his completely inappropriate timing. And if he only knew. Leila had so many boxes she neatly placed things in it’d be easy to completely lose track of the exact number and location inside her head of all them.
“The one you stuff us in every time things reach a point you might actually have to say it.” When his nostrils flared, Leila could no longer hold back the sarcastic cynic she could be so easily.
“Say what?” She quirked one side of her mouth up and all but batted her lashes, daring him to continue down this path.
“You know very well what,” Trent roared, slamming a fist against the table causing the silverware still setting on the edges of plates on the other end of it to rattle and tea to spill out over the top of her unfinished cup, which was most likely cold and bitter by now.
“You’ve not said it in a long while, either, you know.” Leila pulled her now drying hair behind her ears and gnawed on the inside of her lip. Trent didn’t answer, instead just sat back down and grabbed his phone. “I have my reasons but they’re not the same as yours, you coward. You’re afraid.”
A Word With the Author
Did you always want to be an author?
I’m not entirely sure I always had aspirations of being published, but I certainly have always had the writing/story telling bug. I can remember making up stories before I could even spell. I think when I crossed over from storyteller to wanting to be a bona fide author was around sixth grade when my creative writing instructor stroked my writer’s ego and told me he believed I’d someday be published. Although that took years to accomplish, I always had something I was working on. Plenty of it made it into dumpsters before I submitted eleven years ago, however.
Tell us about the publication of your first book.
My first book was accepted for publication back in spring of 2010. In fact, I got the email on my birthday. I was on the cusp of forty when I submitted and that was what drove me to submit to begin with. I realized I was getting older and my dreams weren’t quite fulfilled. Getting that first acceptance email was absolutely thrilling!
Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre you write in?
Oh my. There are SO many. Janie Crouch, Piper J Drake, Maya Banks, and Sheryl Nantus to name a few.
What's the best part of being an author? The worst?
I love everything about being an author. I love that I get to create worlds where anything is possible and true love never fails. I love that I get to bring a smile to someone’s face with my words. I love the interaction with fans. I don’t think there’s anything really negative about this life, so I really can’t point to the worst thing about it. I don’t even mind reviews, good or bad. I feel there’s something to be learned from each and every one of them.
5.What are you working on now?
I’m continuing to work on the S3 series. I have Recoil, book two, off with my editor and I’m about three-quarters of the way finished with book three, Residue. Books four through six are outlined and a few key scenes sketched out in my notebook.
Thank you so much, Elaine, for hosting me today. It’s been a pleasure being here!
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Born and raised in the heart of the Ozarks, Dixie Jackson learned a love of the written word at a young age. She remembers spinning tales before she could even write them down, but it was the encouragement of her sixth-grade creative writing teacher which would plant the idea that just never seemed to go away. She wanted to someday see her works in print.
Dixie makes her home in the Great Smoky Mountains with her retired Marine husband, two rescue dogs, and her beloved chickens. When she’s not writing, you can find her digging in the dirt and nurturing her plants while plotting the next step in one story line or another. She also loves experimenting in her kitchen, embroidering, quilting, crocheting, tracing her family’s twisted tree, and of course reading.
You can find Dixie at:
Blog: https://www.dixiejackson.net
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sweetteamafia/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19160992
Instagram: @dixiejwriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dixiejacksonauthor/
Amazon: amazon.com/author/dixiejackson
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/dixie-jackson
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Dixie Jackson will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
