Thank you, Kim, for this opportunity to be a guest on your
blog!
Hello all, I’m CJane Elliott and my novel Serpentine Walls is being released by
Dreamspinner Press on October 30th.
I’ve published three novellas through Dreamspinner but this is my first
novel-length work and I’m excited to share it with everyone.
The novel is a contemporary romance set at the University of Virginia, my alma mater.
Blurb:
Reeling from the news
that his parents are divorcing, Pete Morgan starts his junior year at college
cynical about love and commitment. Although his new openness to one-night
stands does wonders for his sex life, fighting his romantic nature proves
harder than he’d anticipated. He soon finds himself pining for a glamorous
senior, Aidan, who doesn’t mind taking Pete to bed but shows no interest in
commitment—at least not with Pete. And Pete’s attempt at a
“friends-with-benefits” relationship with sophomore Jed leaves Pete feeling
empty.
One bright spot in Pete’s year is Matthew, an easygoing graduate student who
assists Pete in making his first film. Matthew has some baggage too, and has
sworn off relationships and sex altogether, so Pete feels safe to enjoy their
friendship. But he falls for Matthew anyway, not able to fight his growing
conviction that Matthew is the perfect guy for him. Even if Pete can accept
that he made a mistake when he turned his back on relationships, that doesn't
mean Matthew will feel the same. With a few life lessons under his belt, Pete’s
ready to take a chance on love. As he finds the courage to bare his heart to
Matthew, he can only hope that Matthew will take a chance with him.
One of the themes that I explored in this story is the
impact of parents divorcing on a young adult.
Everyone talks about how it affects children. By implication, young adults aren’t supposed
to have any problems with it. That’s not
necessarily true, and certainly not in Pete’s case. He feels keenly the absence of his father
even though he’s angry at him. He worries about his mother. The first holidays
right after the split are filled with a sense of loss.
This excerpt shows Pete and his siblings going to a
Christmas “celebration” at the home of their father and his new girlfriend.
Excerpt:
“Tell me again why we’re going to this,” Pete said to Missy
as he drove into the parking lot.
“Because Dad wants to spend the day after Christmas with his
beloved children?”
“And make us spend time with him and his mistress?
Charming.” Aidan came to his mind, sprawled on the Lawn in his black tee,
saying “charming” after Pete told him about the divorce.
They walked into the lobby of the fancy apartment building
in Tyson’s Corner that Dad had moved into with Mallory this past September.
“What floor?” Pete asked Missy, who reached around him and
pushed an elevator button in reply.
At the door to Dad’s apartment, they paused. Pete gave Missy
a funereal glance, and she whispered to him, “Let’s just get through this,
okay?” He knocked on the door.
Mallory opened it with a wide smile, standing back for them
to enter. She was wearing a festive outfit—a red-and-green plaid blouse shot
through with silver and gold thread, bright-green turtleneck, and black
velveteen pants. Add in her sparkling red earrings and the gold barrettes in
her red hair, and the effect was like a shiny but overdressed Christmas tree.
She flicked her gaze over the three of them in their jeans and casual tops.
“Come on in. Gary,
the kids are here,” she called. “He just got back from Red, Hot, and Blue. I hope barbeque is okay.”
“Yum,” Nate said, while Missy gave a quick nod and Pete
could barely manage a shrug.
Despite her smile, Mallory appeared nervous. “Um, come in
and sit down.” She gestured to the living room, where a small artificial tree
stood in the corner and a gas fire flickered in the fireplace. A Kenny G. CD,
what Pete liked to call “faux jazz,” was playing in the background. A small
pile of tastefully wrapped presents sat under the tree, and the coffee table
held platters of cheese and crackers and a bowl of mixed nuts.
They followed her in, Pete and Missy standing in the center
of the room while Nate made a beeline to the coffee table, grabbed some nuts,
and shoveled them into his mouth.
“Help yourself,” Mallory told him belatedly. “What would you
all like to drink?”
Before they could answer, Dad entered and boomed out, “My
progeny! So nice of you to grace your dear old dad with a visit!” He was
wearing a dorky tie with snowmen on it, and he came up behind Mallory and put
his arm around her waist. “You’ve met my three youngest, right, babe?” he
inquired, bending his head toward her.
“Of course, what kind of a silly question is that?” She
laughed—a tinkling, girlish titter that made Pete want to throw up. He noticed
Missy staring at Dad’s hand on Mallory's hip. “We saw Pete in Charlottesville, and I met Missy and Nate at
his basketball game, remember?”
“Okay, good. I can never keep track, what with everyone
going in different directions these days.” He and Mallory smiled at each other,
seemingly lost in their own world.
“Can I use your bathroom?” Missy asked and walked away
before either of them could answer.
After a short silence, Mallory murmured, “I’ll just get the
food on the table,” and headed to the kitchen.
“How’s school, Pete?” Dad walked over to the gas fire as if
he was about to stir the logs like he used to do at home. He stopped and
straightened a plant on the mantelpiece instead.
“Fine.”
“Hey, Dad, did you see the game the other night?” Nate
asked. He sat down on the couch and crammed a cracker with cheese into his
mouth.
“The Wizards? What did you think?”
“Jones is a moron, man. I can’t believe he missed that
layup.”
Pete wandered around the living room, waiting for Missy to
get out of the bathroom while Dad and Nate talked sports. He supposed he could
go into the kitchen to help Mallory. Fat
chance.
“Are Rob and Austin coming?” he asked, interrupting Dad and
Nate’s lively debate.
“Rob couldn’t make it. They have Christmas with Jennifer’s
family tonight. Austin
should be here at some point.”
Yet another reason for Pete to resent Rob—despite acting
like he was somehow the favored child, he found every excuse to bail on family
events. Missy came back in carrying a beer in each hand, one of which she gave
to Pete.
“Ah, you found the beer,” Dad said. “Good. They’re a Texas brew I got
special. Only thing to drink with barbeque. C’mon, kids, let’s eat.” He strode
out of the room.
“I don’t even like barbeque,” Missy whispered to Pete as
they trailed after him. “Trust Dad not to remember that.”
***
Ouch! Families
breaking up can really suck and twenty-somethings aren’t immune to how
upsetting it can be. Pete’s reaction to
his parents’ split was to protect himself emotionally and even though he fell
in love in spite of this, it took something for him to overcome the fear that
was underneath the anger. Can anyone
relate?
More About CJane
Elliott: After years of hearing
characters chatting away in her head, CJane Elliott finally decided to put them
on paper and hasn’t looked back since. A psychotherapist by training, CJane
enjoys writing sexy, passionate stories that also explore the human psyche.
CJane has traveled all over North America for
work and her characters are travelers, too, traveling down into their own
depths to find what they need to get to the happy ending.
