A warm welcome to author Parker Williams joining us today to promote his new release “Runner”.
Parker shares a bonus behind the scene with us , shares an excerpt and there is a giveaway to participate in!
Welcome Parker 🙂
Blurb:
Matt Bowers’s life ended at sixteen, when a vicious betrayal by someone who he should have been able to trust left him a shell of himself, fighting OCD and PTSD, living in constant fear and always running. When he buys a remote tract of land, he thinks he’s found the perfect place to hide from the world and attempt to establish some peace. For ten years he believes he’s found a measure of comfort, until the day a stranger begins to run on Matt’s road.
He returns every day, an unwelcome intrusion into Matt’s carefully structured life. Matt appeals to the local sheriff, who cannot help him since the jogger is doing nothing wrong. Gradually, after tentatively breaking the ice, Matt begins to accept the man’s presence—
But when the runner doesn’t show up one day, it throws Matt’s world into chaos and he must make the hardest decision of his life.
BEHIND THE SCENES
We gathered at the Clover, one of the only restaurants in the area, for my sixteenth birthday. Mom gushed over me, reminding me how cute I’d been as a baby, how much my father had loved me, and how he was looking down on us as we celebrated, and she knew, without a doubt, how proud he’d be of the person I’d become.
That night, I’d gorged myself on fried chicken and French fries, while my mom sat there smiling at me. Honestly, it was a little disconcerting the way she watched me. After dinner, they brought out a cake. Double chocolate, with chocolate shavings on top. I told her I was stuffed and couldn’t eat another bite.
I had three slices.
After dinner, she led us out of the restaurant, with a grin a mile wide on her face. “It’s a nice night. Let’s take a walk around town.”
I turned to her and frowned. “Okay, you’re kinda creeping me out.”
She chuckled. “Okay, you’re sixteen now—”
“No! Really? Wow, I wish someone had told me.”
She cuffed me on the arm. “Smartass.”
My brother snorted. “Sounds more like a dumbass to me.”
She turned and pinned him with a stare. “Language. You’re not too old for a punishment, you know.”
I pointed and him and laughed. She glared at me.
“Neither are you.”
That shut me up. Mom had creative punishments. Like pulling all of the dishes from the cabinet and making us wash them by hand. Yeah, not my idea of a good time, so I decided I’d best keep quiet.
“Anyway, as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted…. You’re sixteen now, and with age comes certain responsibilities.”
Oh, God. She was going to make me find a job or something, I just knew it. I wanted to say something, but I bit my tongue. She turned the corner and we ended in front of Mr. Gianetti’s house. His son, Milo, stood outside, washing a lemon yellow Toyota. He turned and smiled at me, and the breath was sucked from my lungs.
“Happy birthday, Matt!”
My cheeks warmed. I’d had a crush on him for the longest time, and whenever he acknowledged me, I thought I’d burst into flames. “Thank you.”
“Good evening, Mrs. Bowers. I’ve got everything set for you.”
She stepped closer and hugged him. “Thank you. I’m so excited.”
I may have wished it could be me hugging Milo, but his father had told me he was a little old for me, and he was right. Still, it was a nice thought. Mom turned to me, that weird smile on her face.
“So, remember when I was talking to you about responsibilities?”
I blinked. “Um. Yes?”
She stepped closer and opened her hand. In it was a key. At first I was confused, and then it dawned on me.
“That’s for me?” My stomach churned with excitement. A car! I had wheels.
“Yes, but… You’re responsible for it. Changing the oil, keeping it clean, obeying all the laws. No speeding, no reckless behavior when you’re behind the wheel, no…”
I’m sure she kept talking, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the car. I moved closer, reached out, and touched it. It wasn’t a dream. I really had a car.
“Matt.”
Mom’s voice snapped me out of my shock at how much I was already in love with the vehicle.
“Yes?”
“And you didn’t hear a word I just said.”
The idea she could take the car from me already had me freaking out. “I’m sorry. If you repeat it, I swear I’ll listen.”
She laughed and wrapped me in a hug. “It’s fine, honey. I promise you’ll be hearing these rules a lot.”
Milo shook my hand and clapped me on the shoulder. I got into the car, while Mom got into the passenger side. My brother slid into the backseat. All the way home, I couldn’t believe how much my life had changed. I knew that nothing would ever be able to take away the feeling of pride and accomplishment that coursed through me.
Today was the first day of the rest of my life, and it was going to be great.
I COULDN’T find it within myself to talk to him for the first four days. I kept hoping he’d stop running by and my life would go back to normal. I should have known better. Ever since the incident, nothing went the way I expected it to. I continued to watch him, and I had to admit, the apprehension that coursed through me had eased. He didn’t really frighten me anymore, but the thought of talking to him filled me with dread. What made it worse for me? He’d continued to glance toward the house, and if he saw me, he’d give a smile or a little wave.
No, I wasn’t being honest. After a few weeks of him waving, I had actually started to weave that into my daily routine. I stood in front of the window, looking out at the road every day at ten thirty. One day it rained, and he was thirteen minutes late. I went into panic mode, hyperventilating and pacing around the house, chastising myself. How had he become a part of my world? Why did I now depend on him to be where I expected him to be? I grew angry with myself for that. Despite the pleading I’d done with Clay, I no longer wanted the man to stop running by my house now that I’d grown used to seeing him.
And worse, when he waved, I had started waving back.”
Runner sales links:
Parker Williams believes that true love exists, but it always comes with a price. No happily ever after can ever be had without work, sweat, and tears that come with melding lives together.
Living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with his husband of a quarter century, Parker continues to believe and writes stories where there is (almost) always a happy ending.
Connect with Parker on:
Twitter: @ParkerWAuthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parker.williams.75641
Or you can visit his website: http://www.ParkerWilliamsAuthor.com
(Prize is a paperback of Runner.)
Hi Parker, congratulations on release.
Thank you for this, Parker. I just finished reading Runner earlier this evening, so this scene sure squeezes my heart. I love it.