Today, I have Lauren Faulkenberry’s latest- Bayou, Whispers from the Past, for a cover reveal. This is the sequel to Bayou My Love! Look for this book in October 🙂 🙂 The cover brings to mind a fall-ish feel to me!

Ready? Let’s GO!

Summary provided by Velvet Morning Press:

New love put to the test in the sultry bayous of Louisiana…

Thirty-one-year old Enza has finally found love with sexy fireman Jack, and through him, she has gained a family, years after her mother abandoned her. With her friend Kate in town, Enza’s looking forward to her first Christmas in Bayou Sabine, surrounded by those she cares about most. But instead the holiday ends in turmoil. One guest puts someone Enza loves—and her relationship with Jack—in danger, and another guest brings news that makes Enza question the circumstances surrounding her mother’s departure.

Enza, fleeing Jack and the drama in Bayou Sabine, sets off with Kate on a road trip à la Thelma & Louise. But will she find answers about her mother’s disappearance and the strength to accept the truth? And will she return home in time to save everything that’s important to her?

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Excerpt:

Bayou, Whispers from the Past

By Lauren Faulkenberry

 

I unzipped my suitcase and pulled out the purple halter-top dress I’d bought with Kate back in the spring. She’d insisted I buy it, though it cost more than I ever spent on clothes. I didn’t even spend that kind of money on my favorite cowboy boots. But Kate had said I’d soon have a reason to wear this “va-voom” dress as she called it, so I figured this was that special occasion. I owed Jack a surprise or two of my own.

I slipped the dress on and zipped the side zipper, then leaned over and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to encourage more bounce into it. I thought briefly of those commercials I’d seen as a teenager, as women bent their heads and tried to fluff their hair up after work before a night out, as they stepped off the subway, or in the ladies’ room on a date. I hadn’t had many occasions to do such a thing, and it made me laugh doing it then.

I quickly put on some mascara and lipstick, and stepped into my heels as I heard the shower turn off. After a couple more fluffs and squeezes, I slipped out the door and went downstairs, trying to remember how to walk gracefully in shoes that were not cowboy boots.

The dining room was like something out of a movie. The owner, a petite woman who looked about fifty, had her blond hair up in a bun. Margie was her name, and she’d informed us earlier that the house had been in her family for five generations. Her mother had turned it into an inn, and Margie had taken over a dozen years before. She smiled as I sat down at a table set for two in the back of the dining room by the windows. From there, I’d see Jack when he entered the room.

Margie came by and filled two water glasses. “That’s a great color for you,” she said. “Would you two care for wine this evening?”

“Thanks—and yes, we’d love some.”

She nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. The room buzzed with the chatter of the other guests, mostly couples.

After a while, a movement in the hallway caught my eye. When I looked up, I saw Jack paused in the doorway. When his eyes met mine and he walked toward me with his slow swagger, I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over my face.

He was wearing the gray suit. The one he’d had on when I first saw him, when I’d had no idea how he was about to transform my life. He’d joked about wearing that suit again, after he’d learned how I’d admired the way it clung to my favorite parts of him. It was just snug enough in the shoulders and the hips for me to notice those parts now and think fondly of what I’d do with them later.

“Well, hi there,” he said, pausing by the chair. “Mind if I join you?”

“Nice suit.”

He sat across from me. “Nice dress. I haven’t seen that one before.” His eyes drifted over the lines of the halter top.

“I was saving it for a special occasion.”

“Is that right?” He grinned his wolfish grin, and I felt myself blush.

“Why, Miss Parker. You’re blushing.”

“Just thinking of you, Mr. Mayronne, and the cut of that lovely suit.”

Before I could say more, Margie was back with a bottle of red and two glasses. “I knew he wouldn’t be too long,” she said with a wink. “Good evening, Mr. Mayronne.”

“Good evening,” he said, and I fought back a chuckle, thinking of the times I’d called him by his full name, back before we’d become so delightfully entangled.

“I told you I’d find an occasion to wear it again,” he said, clinking his glass against mine. “If for no other reason than to let you separate me from it one button at a time.”

 

About the Author:

Lauren Faulkenberry is the author of the Bayou Romance series, including titles Bayou My Love and Bayou, Whispers from the Past (release October 2016). She divides her time between writing, teaching, and crafting artist books. Originally from South Carolina, Lauren has worked as an archaeologist, an English teacher, and a ranger for the National Park Service. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Georgia College & State University, where she attended on fellowship. She was a finalist for the Novello Festival Press First Novel Award, won the Family Circle short fiction contest for her story Beneath Our Skin, and was nominated for an AWP Intro Award. Lauren lives in Whittier, North Carolina, where she is at work on her next novel.

Find her: Facebook, Twitter, Website.

 

Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T