When Life Takes a Turn and Burns You – #Burns #Suspense #Romance @cbeckerauthor

 

By C. Becker (Guest Author)

Three years ago, I planned a trip to Hawaii. A month before the flight, I was boiling water to cook lasagna and as I added in the noodles, water splashed out of the pot onto my foot. The pain was horrible and I remember swearing, which I rarely do. My kids took notice and came to help me as I peeled off my sock and ran for an icepack. A layer of skin had already peeled off, and I spent the next hour researching how to treat burns while I soaked my foot in cold water. I was too embarrassed to go to the urgent care, and besides, I still needed to make dinner. The nights that followed were difficult. Pain lingered. The wound area worsened. Antibiotic cream with pain medicine became my best friend. My main concern was getting the foot to heal so I could put shoes on again and walk onto a plane. I must have looked ridiculous wearing flipflops in February in the cold WV weather!

Ironically, this was also the time I was writing a story for one of my characters, Mark, who was burned in a fire. Once I burned my foot, my eyes opened. I wanted to bring awareness to people suffering from burns. I began researching the pain that burn victims endure. I gained an understanding for the type of pain management that is required to keep burn patients comfortable. I also had a new respect for what patients undergo during their path to recovery and the medical professionals who care for them. In my opinion, they are all unsung heroes.

I’ve never personally known anyone severely burned, but from reports of the American Burn Association, 450,000 burns require treatment each year in the U.S. In my case, I finally went to my family doctor three weeks later when I was desperate to have the wound heal. The doctor gave me a salve for my foot, but the wound only needed time to heal. I ending up going to Hawaii, but I wasn’t able to dip my foot into the Pacific Ocean. Considering how lucky I was that the burn wasn’t worse, I’m okay with that disappointment. So many more people have undergone more severe burns.

Researching burns has opened my eyes to the trials that burn patients experience. I’ve tried to incorporate the treatments for burn injuries into my character’s story. In Saving Euphoria Mark Langley gives up his own happiness to save his family after he is caught in a burning building. Mark survives, but he’s afraid to ask for help, and as he rebuilds his strength, he learns his wife is moving on with her life. Mark refuses to give up and continues his rehab while researching the new men in his wife’s life. He spends long days working with a physical therapist and occupational therapist, talking to a counselor, meeting his doctor, but he feels alone. Burn victims not only need support of family and friends, they also need to feel some kind of normalcy. As I finished writing this book, I started searching for available treatments to heal burns. I was pleased to learn that there is research going on to find ways to heal skin and regrow skin. In my Euphoria trilogy, the Euphoria shrub, aka Bixa aparra, will extend its medicinal powers to skin regeneration in the next book. A fictitious plant, the Euphoria shrub is native to the Amazon rainforest. Maybe there is a real plant out there to heal burns or regenerate skin. Unfortunately, with plants in the Amazon disappearing through deforestation, the world may never know the impact of these medicines.

Blurb

Hailey Langley and her children struggle to cope with the shocking and mysterious death of her husband Mark. Her teenaged son is rebelling, and Hailey is dealing with physical and mental challenges as well.

Tom Parker, Hailey's former partner from the Special Crimes Agency, comes back into her life. He warns her to trust no one even as he tries to rekindle the flame that connects them.

Everyone has secrets, even Parker, and some of those from the past threaten to destroy the present. Hailey fights to move forward after losing Mark, but she needs to figure out if she can trust Parker and risk taking another chance on love.

Excerpt

Mark scowled. “Oh, give me a break. I never intended this.”

“What did you expect after we faked your death? That Hailey and the kids would live happily ever after tripping through a field of daisies? They’re in pain, Mark. They hurt from losing you.” David’s eyes closed. “The boy lost his father. He’s suffering, and he won’t or can’t share his pain. Anna avoids the house, and Hailey’s at wits’ end trying to keep the family together.”

Mark clenched his jaw, his frustration mounting to a new level.

David tugged his sleeve. “Do you want to tell Owen the plan’s over?”

He met David’s stare. “And then what? Expect Hailey to run to me with open arms?” He pointed at the clear mask on his face used to minimize scarring. He still couldn’t bring himself to look at his reflection in the mirror. “Look at me. I’m a freak. And a cripple. Even if I could walk, she couldn’t see past these grotesque scars.”

“You don’t give her enough credit.”

Mark spit. “And you’re living in a dream world. I’m repulsive.”

“Hailey would be thrilled to learn you’re alive.”

“For how long? Until she stops feeling sorry for me?”

“She loves you.”

“And I love her.” Mark’s voice cracked. “That’s why I can’t do this to her.”

“You’re making excuses.” David’s lips tightened. “I hate being in this position. I get Owen didn’t want Hailey to know you survived, but I don’t like it.”

“It’s the best way to bring Mendoza to the States and arrest him.”

“If word gets out Owen and I made everyone believe you’re dead so we could track down Mendoza, a lot of heads are going to roll.”

“Bullshit! This is the DTA and CIA we’re talking about. The government does questionable things every day, and it never goes anywhere. The end justifies the means. Isn’t that the motto?”

“I’m just saying we can all lose our jobs and most likely go to jail.”

“We won’t go to jail if we catch Mendoza. He’s wanted by every agency in the country, not to mention in fifty other countries around the world.”

David got up and paced. “There’s a lot at risk. All our asses are on the line.”

Buy Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09SVMXYZT

The Wild Rose Press: https://www.thewildrosepress.com/bookauthor/c-becker

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/saving-euphoria-c-becker/1141022852

iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/saving-euphoria/id1612065577

About the Author

Becker is the author of Finding Euphoria and Saving Euphoria. She is currently working on the third book to the Euphoria trilogy. As a medical technologist in a former career, Becker has never outgrown the attraction of using science in everyday life.

Becker enjoys hanging out with her family and Jack Russell, playing the piano, reading, and gardening.

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