RELEASE TOUR & Exclusive Excerpt: Twister by Kayla Halleur
Now that I’ve graduated college, I’m expected to join the family accounting business even though I hate everything to do with finance.
What’s not expected? Getting stuck in a small town on my way home after a tornado nearly destroys my Jeep, or the lonely single dad and his adorable pre-teen daughter who offer their spare room for my stay.
Sometimes the most unexpected things can lead to the best life decisions.
Length: 78,000 words Series: standalone
Prior Reading: n/a
Genre: contemporary, small-town
Tropes: Low to mid-angst, Age gap, Small town, Forced proximity, Precocious daughter
Trigger/Content Warnings: Domestic violence of a side character (allusion to and discussion of domestic violence involving a side character in two chapters by the MCs, as well as a heavy in-depth discussion after a violent incident, that lasts for one chapter between the side character and the MCs), Traumatic foster/adoption experience by a side character (involved discussion between MCs in one chapter), Both MCs caught in tornado, Hospital visits
Designer/Publisher: self-published & designed
Marshall
I’ve put off going home after graduating as long as I can, but there’s no excuses left. My cubicle-filled future is here whether I like it or not.
Until I drive into a huge, terrifying tornado, that is.
Now I’m stuck in a small town while I wait for my Jeep to get fixed. Thankfully, the adorable young girl who survived the twister with me talks her dad into offering me one of their spare rooms, so I don’t have to waste money at the local motel or contend with the gossipy motel owner.
Maybe I should’ve declined the offer, but there’s something about her dad that makes me think he’s desperate for another adult to talk to.
I’m only in town for the week, but that’ll be plenty of time to give him a reprieve from his hectic, but lonely, life. If only he didn’t turn out to be everything I was looking for….
Daniel
My pre-teen daughter is convinced that I’m sad and lonely, and that my life would be infinitely better with someone to share it with. Even if that was something I wanted to explore, my farm takes up too much time and energy to consider a night out.
Meeting someone new isn’t on my radar at all, until a gorgeous guy literally falls at my feet in his effort to escape the small twister that sideswipes the local gas station.
Less than an hour later, my daughter invites him to stay with us while he’s stuck in town.
Maybe I should’ve said no, but there’s something about him that makes me want to help and protect him.
I’ll admit that I find myself wildly attracted to him. If only he wasn’t so much younger than me….
Twister is a standalone story featuring an overworked farmer who loves his daughter even when she’s trying to set him up with young strangers, a recent college graduate who doesn’t love the idea of spending the rest of his life stuck in a cubicle, and a love story that blossoms in a small town with some very colorful residents.
A clatter of dishes interrupted us before I heard Rose call out, “It’s okay! Nothing broke!
Everything’s under control! It’s just a little fire!” Both of our eyes widened, and we cursed loudly and immediately jumped out of bed to scramble for our boxers and then the door.
On the other side, Rose was standing in front of the sink, busy examining the pan that she’d been using, which was now covered with the fire blanket we’d bought for these types of emergencies.
She eyed us both for half a second before she returned her focus to what was in front of her. “Told you I had it.” She bobbed her head toward the stovetop proudly. “And look, no smoke damage this time!” “This time?” Marshall muttered from behind me, sounding morbidly curious. “It’s why there’s a fire blanket,” I replied quietly before looking Rose up and down to make sure she wasn’t hiding any injury.
“There’s an extinguisher in the corner.” “Huh.” “Safety first.” “Clearly, yet you still let her cook unsupervised.” “Hey,” I replied, smirking at him over my shoulder. “No back seat parenting.” “I’m just sayin’….” “Eh, she’s got to learn some time.”
“By burning the house down?” “I obviously have more faith in her than you.” “Well, I would like to survive until tomorrow.”
Kayla is a budding new Australian author who feels incredibly lost when needing to talk about herself (especially in the third person), preferring to let her stories speak for her. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found on the couch wrapped in a blanket burrito, with her head in a book. That type of existence suits her introverted heart well, much to the chagrin of her extroverted relatives. She freely admits that she doesn’t know what the heck she’d doing, but she hopes she’s at least learning as she goes. She’s thankful that you’ve looked her Amazon bio up, and hopes that you’ll give her stories a chance (and will hopefully enjoy them).
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