New Release – Dragonfly Moments
I write contemporary romance and am a sucker for happy endings. I cry in movies way too much and love writing about hesitant heroines who struggle to open up to love mostly because I was the same.
“Dragonfly Moments” is a book about treasuring the moments of today; it’s about reuniting with an old flame. The story is set in my birth country and the country where I now live – South Africa. I moved away for seven years but returned here. I was thrilled to find a publisher who wanted books from Africa! So I sent in a book to Decadent Publishing that had been rewritten and polished several times.
Dragonfly Moments was first called “Tessa’s Choice” and was a vastly different, badly written book, one of the first books I ever wrote. After learning some good tips from critique partners and fellow South African writers, I polished it up and sent it in. What a pleasure to work with Decadent who brought my book to a whole new level. I’ve certainly learned the importance of creating a rich setting and showing more of my character’s reactions, emotions and thought processes.
I loved many things about writing this book but most of all was the symbolism of the dragonflies. I’m not going to give it away yet – you have to read it to find out, but I love the way the concept tied the whole message of the book together. I also loved writing about art – Tessa is a landscape artist and opens her own art gallery. Although I’m not a professional artist, I dabbled in oil painting and sketching, especially in my teenage years and appreciate good art. I couldn’t resist writing about a heroine who owns her own art gallery.
Here is a blurb:
A young woman’s first love walks back into her life at the worst time possible—she is about to start a family with another man. But when her dreams begin to crumble, which one will be there to help her pick up the pieces?
Seven years earlier, Tessa Calitz wrote a letter to Ryan le Roux promising her undying love. As time passed, she forgot about that letter...but not Ryan, who clung to the hope that she would wait for him.
Such is not the case when he walks back into her life. Tessa is in a serious relationship, and is busy setting up her art gallery in Johannesburg. She has plans to start a family, and the arrival of Ryan into her life throws her for a spin.
He is the worst thing that could happen to her dream of stability and starting a family...or is he? Because when her relationship and everything she clung to starts to crumble, Ryan is right beside her to inspire her to greater things.
But her obsession for having her own child pushes Ryan away when she falls in love with an orphaned HIV-positive baby. Will Tessa push him away further or realize what her heart has longed for all along?
And an excerpt:
“You’re making a mistake, Ryan. Coming in here and trying to bring up the past. It’s too late now. I’m committed to Mark and have found a life for myself. You never wanted me then. You loved Annie.”
“I didn’t love her. I loved you. And you promised forever….”
His voice was resigned, and then he winked at her as if to dispel the tension. It did no such thing.
The letter at the back of the sketch had promised she would love him forever, hadn’t it? She had believed she would never love anyone as much as Ryan, and that he showed her what true love was.
“You never loved me.” She dropped her gaze onto her lap. “We were just good friends.”
Pushing up her chin to pretend that her heart wasn’t zinging with emotion, she rose up and walked toward the one wall to adjust a painting. He grabbed her hand. She tried to pull away, but he firmly pulled her close.
Heat and energy radiated off him, and his manly scent encompassed her. Even his breath was a sweetness she wanted to drink in. She took in the shape of his face—his mouth, which drooped slightly to the left, his skewed jaw line and the prominent cheek bones. His eyebrows were dark and perfectly shaped, and he had such long eyelashes. Yanking her burning hand away, she made sure her back was facing him.
“I was blind to the true treasure. All the time when I was going out with Annie, I really wanted you, but I couldn’t do that to her—dump her for her best friend. I’ve loved you for years, Tess. I’ve been trying to find you. No other woman has measured up, and I’ve had several relationships. And you’ve become so beautiful.”
She faced him, her mouth partially open, devoid of words. He’d loved her? Why didn’t he tell her then before it was too late?
His gaze followed her from head to foot, and heat branded her face while a spark ignited her body.
“But I wasn’t then. You thought I was ugly. You must have because Annie was so beautiful, and you never looked at me.”
“I did. Besides the kohl and black clothes, you were adorable, especially in your pajamas.”
Tessa wasn’t usually one to blush easily, but fire lapped up her whole face and neck. “But the way you used to look at Annie. She had the most stunning legs. Long and muscular.”
Ryan smiled. “You have better legs than Annie.”
She pulled back. For a moment, he had her in a trance. Maybe she should leave Mark and pursue this. Jump right in. No, of course not. Who was Ryan now, anyway? She hardly knew him. He could disappear. Mark cared for her, and he was the perfect match to build a family. That’s all she needed.
