Monday, August 29, 2022

Love and the Dream Come True: Deleted Scene and Giveaway!


LOVE AND THE DREAM
COME TRUE
State of Grace Trilogy, Book 3
by
TAMMY L. GRAY

Contemporary Christian Fiction / Clean Romance
Publisher: Bethany House
Pages: 368 pages
Publication Date: August 2, 2022

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The Anticipated Series Finale to the 2021 Carol Award-Winning Novel, Love and a Little White Lie Their faith will face its toughest test yet.
Four years after getting the biggest break of his life, Cameron Lee's music career has taken a nosedive, leaving him two options: become a sellout or give up on his lifelong dream. He reluctantly returns home for his sister's wedding, hoping to avoid his past and find his love for music again.
Single mom Lexie Walters has suffered her fair share of tragedies and setbacks, but she has finally scraped together the money to achieve her dream of going into business with her cousin as an interior designer. When Lexie's life is at an all-time high, she runs into her teenage crush, Cameron Lee.
Lost in the emotional turmoil of failure, Cameron is immediately drawn to Lexie and her infectious smile and optimistic spirit. Moreover, he adores her mouthy, no-holds-barred daughter. But fantasies only last so long, and soon Lexie and Cameron must face the real world, the one fraught with heartbreak, disappointment, and questions that sometimes can only be answered by a leap of faith.
"Cameron and Lexie's chemistry is palpable, and readers will root for their happily ever after. This tender tale hits all the right notes."Publishers Weekly

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DELETED SCENE FROM 

LOVE AND THE DREAM COME TRUE

BY TAMMY L. GRAY


“Lexie”


I scan the growing post-it garden across my desk, hoping to get the massive pile reduced before my two o’clock meeting with Mason to go over the demolition plan. The fluctuation in daily tasks and navigating one crisis after another has always been my favorite thing about property management, but lately, it’s become tedious. A job, more than a passion, and the primary thing keeping me from where I really want to be right now—at my new house. But attempting to put my thoughts into some kind of sharable order is a small price to pay for what’s gained—three weeks of paid time off I’ve saved all year to take.  Add in the limited holiday office hours, and I practically have five weeks of critical house renovation time.

“Lexie!” My boss peeks his head out from the one office in our tiny building. He’s the nervous type. Always moving, making a phone call or questioning what’s being done. He expects perfection from himself and no less from his employees. Which is probably why we are known as the best property management company in Ellis County. “What’s the status on Broken Arrow?”

“I called Jerry ten minutes ago, but he was all the way across town.”

“Well, call him again and light a fire under him. The faucet is now gushing water all over the floors.”

I turn in my seat, annoyed. “You didn’t tell them to turn off the water to the sink?” 

He huffs like I asked a ridiculous question. “They’re three college girls barely over eighteen. They’d probably do more damage than good.”

I refrain from reminding him that I recommended we slide their rental application into the waste basket despite one of them being the daughter of an old buddy of his, and call Jerry again. 

 “911 speed only works when you have flashing blue lights.” he growls through the phone. “And tell Mr. Barron to stop pacing. I’m turning the corner now,”

“You’re the best.”

“So you keep telling me.” 

I fill out another post-it, pink this time and press it to the top of my desk: Buy Jerry a six pack of Mountain Dew—his favorite afternoon pick me up.

A few minutes later, he sends me a lot of hashtags and dollar symbols expressing his annoyance in code. 

I add: and a bag of Starburst jelly beans to the pink paper. At least Jerry is easy to please. My boss… well he’s more of a challenge. 

All the same, I scoot away from my desk and walk the ten feet to his office door, knocking softly on the door frame to get his attention. “Jerry has it all under control. Crisis solved.”

“Good,” he says, not bothering to look up at me. 

“And just wanted to remind you that I’m leaving early today. And we got the house, so I’m definitely taking the leave I submitted.” 

He looks up at me then, irritation in his gaze, though he knows he can’t say much about it. Vacation is a company benefit even if he chooses not to take any. “Make sure Suzi is well prepared,” he says with a resigned sigh. It’s a well-known fact in the office that despite my less than conventional organizational skills, I hold the longest and hardest list of properties. A detail I pointed out to Mr. Barron some time ago. He brushed it off claiming he picks me the most because I have a special way with irate people. “I don’t want any balls dropped while you’re out.”

“Absolutely,” I say, even though internally I cringe. Suzi loves order, long lists and scheduling down to the minute. Needless to say, my brain and hers work in completely opposite ways and neither of us is super thrilled she was the one chosen to run my properties while I’m off. I turn to leave when I hear Mr. Barron clear his throat. Immediately, I swing back around. “Did you need something else?”

He pauses, then goes for a smile I find slightly scary. Mostly because he seems to be really trying to make it look normal. “Good, um, luck on the reno,” he finally chokes out. “I hope it goes well for you and your cousin.” 

My mouth nearly falls open but instead I grin to the point Mr. Barron’s cheeks flush with embarrassment. Not only was that the nicest sendoff I might have hoped for, but his words mean he’s actually been listening to my babbling these last few months. “Thank you so much, Sir.” 

He flicks a hand, and I scurry away while I’m ahead. 

Suzi’s waiting at my desk, picking up random post it notes and then pressing them back to the surface. “Is this your tracking system?” Her voice is laced with mild apprehension. 

I shrug. “Basically.”

Suzi points to my shorthand note on an especially pretty patterned blue square. “What does this mean?” 

“The H is for the Hildebrand house and that upside-down V is a reminder to get a roof inspection. They had a huge hailstorm out there last week.” She points to another and I continue to explain, following no particular pattern which I’m sure bothers her. “Cherry St needs a new renter, 1st Main hasn’t paid rent in two months and this one signifies the bossman.” I have a B inside a Superman symbol. “The dollar sign is a new potential client.” 

Suzi shakes her head. “I think you’re going to have to write me out a translation sheet. This all looks like chicken scratch to me.”

“Really?” I examine my handiwork again, unable to see what she does. To me the pictures float off the paper and make a beautiful map of tasks for the day. 

She pats my shoulder and moves back to her desk, leaving me with the sense that she somehow feels sorry for me and my lack of structure. I have a feeling when I get back from my vacation that every one of these houses will be in some kind of four-page spreadsheet. 

I shiver and scrunch my nose, secretly glad that my personality gives me the freedom to follow whatever strange, twisted path or method feels best. And who knows, maybe God gave me this mindset for a reason. Maybe He knew I’d need to be this way to survive all the bumps and bruises life has thrown at me. If so, for that reason alone… I’m extremely thankful. 




Tammy L. Gray lives in the Dallas area with her family, and they love all things Texas. Her nine modern and true-to-life contemporary romances include the 2017 RITA Award-winning My Hope Next Door. When not taxiing her three kids to various events, Tammy can be spotted crunching numbers as the financial administrator at her hometown church.
Bethany House
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ONE WINNER:
Complete STATE OF GRACE SERIES in paperback!
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 9/2/22.)

FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY, OR VISIT THE PARTICIPATING BLOGS DIRECTLY:

8/23/2022

The Page Unbound

Guest Post

8/23/2022

Hall Ways Blog

BONUS Series Spotlight

8/24/2022

Book Fidelity

Review

8/24/2022

LSBBT Blog

BONUS Promo

8/25/2022

The Adventures of a Travelers Wife

Notable Quotables

8/26/2022

Carpe Diem Chronicles

Review

8/27/2022

The Clueless Gent

Excerpt

8/28/2022

All the Ups and Downs

Excerpt

8/29/2022

Librariel Book Adventures

Review

8/30/2022

Rebecca R. Cahill, Author

Deleted Scene

8/31/2022

StoreyBook Reviews

Review

9/1/2022

Chapter Break Book Blog

Review


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Friday, August 19, 2022

The FLower Enigma: Book Blitz

THE FLOWER ENIGMA
Magnolia Bluff Crime
Chronicles, Book 5
by
CHARLES BREAKFIELD
& ROX BURKEY


Small Town Mystery / Suspense / Amateur Sleuths

Publisher: ICABOD Press

Pages: 198 pages

Publication Date: August 20, 2022


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Imagine a romantic getaway in the Texas Hill Country

JJ, a cyber guru, whisks his girlfriend, Jo, away for a vacation. No paparazzi. Magnolia Bluff is the perfect destination. Flower B&B is prettier than the pictures on the website.

The evangelizing podcast creators are demanding answers about the town’s newest resident, Mateo Hernandez. The enormous wall he erected has convinced the ladies he’s hiding nefarious activities behind a dubious attorney. Local authorities don’t believe laws are broken and discount the women as meddling gossips.

When the couple checks into Flower, the podcast show-in-progress is interrupted by a cyberattack. JJ, the techno-geek, can’t resist helping. At each subsequent event in the series, he uncovers more serious issues than cyberwarfare.

JJ and Jo can’t avoid this roving series maelstrom. It gets personal when they’re attacked and warned to leave town. No one can conceive the depth of the crimes behind Mateo’s walls. 

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Breakfield is a technology expert in security, networking, voice, and anything digital. He enjoys writing, studying World War II history, travel, and cultural exchanges. Charles is a fan of wine tastings, winemaking, Harley riding, cooking extravaganzas, and woodworking.

Burkey is a technology professional who excels at optimizing technology and business investments. She works with customers all over the world focusing on optimized customer experiences. Rox writes white papers and documentation, but found she has a marked preference for writing fiction.

Together these Texas authors create award-winning stories that resonate with males and females, as well as young and experienced adults. They bring a fresh new view to technology possibilities today in exciting stories. Visit their website for more information and free stuff.


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Autographed copy of The Flower Enigma
(US only, ends midnight, CDT, 8/25/22.)

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